Neutron investigation of Nitinol stents and massive samples before and after PIRAC coating

Abstract

Nitinol, a thermoelastic Ni-Ti Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) with approximately 50 at. % Ti, is adopted in a wide range of medical equipment and devices used in interventional radiology, orthopaedics, neurology and cardiology, in particular as a smart material for stents. In this work, NiTi real stents and massive samples before and after different Powder Immersion Reaction Assisted Coating (PIRAC) treatments have been investigated by using two neutron techniques: (1) Small and Ultra-Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS, USANS) for nano- and micro-scale characterization, obtaining information on structure and the effects due to the coating treatment; and (2) High-Resolution Neutron Diffraction (HRND), evaluating the macrostrain components resulting from angular shifts of diffraction peaks and the micro-strains in the plastically deformation region by means of profile-broadening analysis. The obtained results contribute: improving knowledge of defects and other key features of the materials complementary to those achieved by using traditional examination techniques; helping to better understand the functional characteristics of Nitinol parts and predict the material’s mechanical behaviour.