Controlling Crystallographic Texture and Thermomechanical Properties of NiTi Shape Memory Alloy through Laser Powder Bed Fusion Technique

In this work, the authors introduce an approach in additive manufacturing that enables control of the crystallographic texture through controlling the build orientation in the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) method. The LPBF parameters play a key role in tailoring the microstructure of the as-fabricated parts. The proposed approach provides the capability of altering/enhancing the properties of the as-printed NiTi shape memory alloys by controlling the texture. The anisotropy may not be preferred for applications with complex and multi-axial loading regimes; however, the approach can be suitable for application with the main loading direction such as torque tube actuators.