Corrosion behavior of NiTi alloys fabricate by selective laser melting subjected to femtosecond laser shock peening

Abstract

NiTi alloys are commonly used in many fields such as aerospace, mechanical engineering due to their excellent mechanical properties and shape memory effect. In recent years, the emergence of selective laser melting (SLM) technology provides a new method for the preparation of NiTi parts. But the surface corrosion failure of SLM-NiTi is the most common problem. This paper mainly focuses on the research of femtosecond laser shock peening of the surface of SLM-NiTi alloy to improve the corrosion resistance. Selecting different scanning space (1 µm, 3 µm, 5 µm, 10 µm), and analyze the surface morphology of the material through the OM, SEM, EDS and white light interferometer, and investigate the surface nanohardness and corrosion resistance through nanoindentation and electrochemical testing. The research results show that part of the TiO2 is formed under different scanning spaces, and part of NiO is formed when the scanning space is 1µm. At the same time, it is found that the sample under the condition of 10 µm has the most excellent corrosion resistance and nanohardness. The nanohardness reaches 1303 ± 40 HV and the corrosion current density reaches 1.45 ± 0.1 × 10−9 A·cm−2. Proper femtosecond laser treatment can effectively improve the surface strength and corrosion resistance of the NiTi alloys.