A novel hyper-elastic thin film nitinol (HE-TFN) covered stent has been developed to promote aneurysm
quiescence by diminishing flow across the aneurysm's neck. Laboratory aneurysm models were used to assess the
flow changes produced by stents covered with different patterns of HE-TFN. The flow diverters were constructed by
covering Wingspan stents (Boston Scientific) with HE-TFNs (i.e., 82 and 77% porosity) and deployed in both in
vitro wide-neck and fusiform glass aneurysm models. In wide-neck aneurysms, the 82% porous HE-TFN stent
reduced mean flow velocity in the middle of the sac by 86.42±0.5%, while a 77% porous stent reduced the velocity
by 93.44±4.99% (n=3). Local wall shear rates were also significantly reduced by about 98% in this model after
device placement. Tests conducted on the fusiform aneurysm revealed smaller intra-aneurysmal flow velocity
reduction to 48.96±2.9% for 82% porous and to 59.2±6.9% for 77% porous stent, respectively. The wall shear was
reduced by approximately 50% by HE-TFN stents in fusiform models. These results suggest that HE-TFN covered
stents have potential to promote thrombosis in both wide-necked and fusiform aneurysm sacs.
Micro features were created in thin film nitinol using a novel lift-off process to create an endovascular
biomedical device. This manuscript describes fabrication problems with wet etching and introduces an effective way,
named "Lift-off" process to solve undercut and non-uniform pattern issues. Two lift-off processes (i.e., lift-off I and II)
are discussed. Lift-off I process has fracture issues and the film peels off the substrate due to high aspect ratio post structures. Lift-off II process use the film on the top of the Si substrate to fabricate various shape patterns (i.e., ellipse, diamond, circle, square, etc.) in the range of 5~60μm. The lift-off II process shows smooth and well aligned micro patterns in thin film nitinol. In-vivo tests in swine were performed to evaluate the endothelial tissue growth through fabricated micro patterns. Angiography and SEM images show patency of the artery and a uniform endothelial layer covering the device without thromobosis.
This study characterizes the performance of embedded optical fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) used as strain sensors. Focus
is provided to FBGs embedded in a quasi-isotropic lay-up of carbon fiber epoxy lamina both parallel and perpendicular
to adjacent structural fibers. It studies the birefringence induced during curing and quantifies the residual transverse
strain differences on the fibers by measuring the split from a single reflected Bragg wavelength into two. The association
between light polarization and loading directions relative to the optical fiber (in-plane parallel, in-plane transverse, and
out-of-plane transverse) are analyzed. Birefringence was seen to increase when a compressive out-of-plane load was
applied to the embedded optical fiber. In contrast, in-plane loads did not lead to an increase in birefringence as indicated
by reflected wavelengths that split during curing shifting equally and linearly during tensile load tests. An effective
strain-optic coefficient was determined that resulted in strong correlations between FBG and surface mounted electrical
strain gauge measurements.
KEYWORDS: Thin films, Arteries, In vitro testing, Body temperature, Sputter deposition, Blood circulation, Atrial fibrillation, Francium, In vivo imaging, Hemodynamics
Thin film NiTi produced by sputter deposition was used in the design of small vessel grafts intended to
treat small vessel aneurysms. Thin film small vessel grafts were fabricated by "hot-target" DC sputter
deposition. Both stress-strain curves and DSC curves were generated for the film used to fabricate small
vessel grafts. The films used for small vessel grafts had an Af temperatures of approximately 36 degrees
allowing for body activated response from a micro-catheter. Thin film small vessel grafts were tested in
a pulsatile flow loop in vitro. Small vessel grafts could be compressed into and easily delivery in < 3 Fr
catheters. Theoretical frictional and wall drag forces on a thin film NiTi small vessel vascular graft were calculated and the radial force exerted by thin film small vessel grafts was evaluated theoretically and experimentally. In-vivo studies in swine confirmed that thin film NiTi small vessel grafts could be deployed accurately and consistently in the swine vascular system.
This paper presents modeling, fabrication, and testing results for a high flow-rate and high frequency Nitinol MEMS
valve. ANSYS(R) is used to evaluate several Nitinol MEMS valve structural designs with the conclusion that a
pentagonal flap with five legs produces higher frequencies and higher strengths without the inherent rotation problem
present in standard designs. The Nitinol penta-leg design was fabricated using a novel bi-layer lift-off method. A
PMGI polymer layer is initially used as an underlayer while a chromium layer is used as a top layer to produce a non-rotational
ortho-planar Nitinol MEMS valve array. This array consists of 65 microvalves with dimensions of 1mm in
circumference, 50 μm in leg width, and 8.2 μm in Nitinol thickness. Each microvalve covers an orifice of 220 μm in
diameter and 500 μm in length and is capable of producing a 150 μm vertical deflection. This Nitinol MEMS valve
array was tested for flow-rates in a hydraulic system as a function of applied pressure with a maximum water flow-rate
of 16.44 cc/s.
This paper focuses on understanding and developing a new approach to dampen MEMS structures using both
experiments and analytical techniques. Thin film Nitinol and thin film Terfenol-D are evaluated as a damping solution
to the micro scale damping problem. Stress induced twin boundary motion in Nitinol is used to passively dampen
potentially damaging vibrations. Magnetic domain wall motion is used to passively dampen vibration in Terfenol-D.
The thin films of Nitinol, Nitinol/Silicon laminates and Nitinol/Terfenol-D/Nickel laminates have been produced using
a sputter deposition process and damping properties have been evaluated. Dynamic testing shows substantial damping
(tan &dgr;) measurable in each case. Nitinol film samples were tested in the Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) to
determine phase transformation temperatures. The twin boundary mechanism by which energy absorption occurs is
present at all points below the Austenite start temperature (approximately 69°C in our film) and therefore allows
damping at cold temperatures where traditional materials fail. Thin film in the NiTi/Si laminate was found to produce
substantially higher damping (tan &dgr; = 0.28) due to the change in loading condition. The NiTi/Si laminate sample was
tested in bending allowing the twin boundaries to be reset by cyclic tensile and compressive loads. The thin film
Terfenol-D in the Nitinol/Terfenol-D/Nickel laminate was shown to produce large damping (tan &dgr; = 0.2). In addition to
fabricating and testing, an analytical model of a heterogeneous layered thin film damping material was developed and
compared to experimental work.
This paper outlines the testing of a piezoelectric ultrasonic motor (PUSM). The authors propose the use of a pseudoelastic NiTi thin film layer to replace the traditional fiber reinforced polymer contact layer. In accordance with this goal, a literature review of reported accomplishments in the area of the tribology of NiTi, both shape memory and pseudoelastic, is provided. The results of the baseline testing of the commercially acquired PUSMs are presented. The motors were baseline tested using a dead-weight force system, then disassembled and a 10 μm thick layer of NiTi was deposited on the rotor using a dc magnetron sputtering process. The motors were then reassembled and tested again. A comparison of the initial results is presented and discussed.
Polycrystalline Ni-Mn-Ga in bulk, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) thin film, and radio frequency (RF) sputtered thin film are studied. A thin film of direct current (DC) magnetron sputter deposited NiTi was also used in the study. A polycrystalline Ni-Mn-Ga bulk sample was measured to have a tan δ = 0.4925 and a maximum elastic modulus E = 7.3 GPa. Material characterization studies were performed on polycrystalline Ni-Mn-Ga thin films deposited by PLD onto single crystal (100) Si and (100) MgO substrates at substrate temperatures ranging from 550°C to 650°C. Damping measurements on RF sputter deposition of 1 μm Ni-Mn-Ga and 10 μm of NiTi both on copper substrates were performed in cantilever beam ring down tests. Results show 1 μm RF sputter deposited Ni-Mn-Ga thin film on a 54 μm copper substrate improves damping properties.
In this paper, a thin film nickel-titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy (SMA) was used to develop a prototype compact hybrid actuator. SMA was selected as an actuating mechanism because it had the highest work density among active materials. Combining this attribute with high frequency response of thin films resulted in large power output. High drive frequency was also possible in part from manipulating the liquid flow to directly cool the SMA membranes. The actuator reached a drive frequency of 100Hz while producing 2.6Watts. The results indicated that power output is linearly related to the drive frequency since the volume flow rate increased proportional to frequency.
Crystallization of sputter deposited Ni-Ti thin film is commonly achieved with high temperature annealing to induce the shape memory effect. High temperature annealing has several disadvantages such as formation of precipitates, exclusion of unstable substrates and increase of residual stress. An attempt has been made to obtain as grown crystallized film by using hot target as a process parameter so that those disadvantages can be overcome. In this paper it will be shown that the transformation properties of sputter deposited as grown NiTi thin films from a hot Ti-rich target on single crystal Si substrate is crystalline in nature and shape memory above room temperature. This is true even though the materials did not undergo crystallization process. X-ray diffraction reveals that as grown films are crystalline and shows a mixture of martensite and rhombohedral phases. Transformation temperatures of the sputtered films are determined by using both differential scanning calorimetry and four point probe technique. Film microstructure has been studied by using transmission electron microscopy. The as deposited films have large sized grains with well defined twinned structure. We believe that the film is crystalline because the composition of the target and the high kinetic energy of the sputtered species create a favorable condition to form crystalline film.
This work examines the influence of annealing temperature on the transformation temperatures, stress necessary to induce martensite (sAM), and the Young's modulus of superelastic NiTi of two different compositions--47.5 at.% Ni and 50.5 at.% Ni. The films were sputter deposited, crystallized, and annealed for two hours at three different temperatures of 400°C, 500°C, and 600°C. Isothermal tensile tests at the austenite finish temperature (Af) were performed for evaluating the mechanical response. For the 47.5 at.% Ni film, increasing the annealing temperature from 400°C to 500°C decreased sAM by 55 MPa, while the film annealed at 600°C failed to demonstrate complete superelastic behavior. For the 50.5 at.% Ni film, increasing the annealing temperature from 400°C to 600°C decreased sAM by 138 MPa. Results were explained using the transformation temperatures and the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship.
In this paper, a prototype SMA-based actuator for a compact kinetic energy missile was fabricated. Thin film nickel-titanium was selected as an actuating mechanism because it exhibited high power density compared to other smart materials. This study represents a proof of concept that high drive frequency and high power density can be both achieved with thin film SMA. The thin film reached a drive frequency of 80Hz while achieving a power density of 27900 Watts/kg. As for the pump, the power density was 2.93 Watts/kg, but obtaining higher value can certainly be achieved by reducing the chamber weight through optimization. In any case, CFD analysis revealed that the pump chamber had to be redesigned to change the flow profile because the present design created non-circulating dead zones immediately adjacent to the diaphragm. Therefore by redirecting the liquid flow to directly cool the SMA diaphragm improved the heat transfer and thus improved performance of the actuator can be achieved.
Ti-Ni-Cu and Ti-Ni-Pd films are deposited on Si < 100 > substrate by d.c. magnetron sputtering technique. In this paper, the influence of target temperature on the properties of the film is discussed. The target temperature transitions from a low temperature value to a high temperature value during sputtering. As grown Ti-Ni-Cu films are amorphous and are crystallized by heating at 500 degreesC for 20 minutes in situ prior to removal from the sputtering system whereas, as grown Ti-Ni-Pd films are crystallized at 550 degrees C for one hour. DSC and electrical resistivity measurements are used to determine the transformation temperature whereas, TEM and XRD are used for structural characterization and composition of the film is determined by using EDAX. We find that the transformation temperatures and the shape memory characteristics are strongly influenced by target temperature. The films show more uniform stoichiometry if the target is hot during deposition.
A new process parameter viz.; target temperature, has been introduced to decrease the composition variables between the target and substrate. A DC magnetron sputtering system has been used for the deposition of NiTi film from equiatomic NiTi target on silicon substrate. The target transitions from a low temperature value to a high temperature value (>700 degree(s)C) during sputtering. The sputtered films were crystallized by heating to 500 degree(s)C for 10 minutes in situ prior to removal from the sputtering system. X-ray diffractogram shows that the film peaks correspond to martensite as well as austenite phases. The film developed under this process displays the two-way shape memory effect without post annealing. Electrical resistivity measurement reveals that there are three different phases present viz.; austenite, rhombohedral and martensite, which exists at different temperature ranges. The characteristic transformation temperatures determined by the electrical resistivity method are compared with those obtained with DSC thermograms.
Transformation characteristics of near equiatomic, prior cold worked Nitinol have been studied through thermomechanical analysis and electrical resistivity measurements, using TMA-50 and a four-probe setup, respectively. The dilatometric and electrical resistivity curves are obtained for the samples heat-treated between 300 and 600 degrees C. Examination of the dilation curves show that, in the martensitic phase there is positive thermal expansion where as, during M yields A transformation there is also uniaxial contraction till Af. In the austenitic phase there is positive thermal expansion and these thermal expansion values agree with the published values for respective phases. While cooling, at Ms uniaxial expansion starts and this continues till Mf is reached. In the present work the R-phase and associated hysteresis has also been investigated. On cooling from A-phase, uniaxial expansion is found to start from Rs and it stops at Rf. The transformation temperatures determined in this method agree very closely with those values obtained using electrical resistivity probe. Hysteresis area is found to be smaller in the A $ARLR M transformation. The area under hysteresis loop associated with R-phase is found to be a constant against thermal cycling. Certain applications like clamps and splints require a large hysteresis loop, while some solid sate actuators require relatively smaller hysteresis loops. An attempt is made to explain R-phase transformation in terms of thermo-mechanical data.
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