PROJECT, MANUFACTURING AND QUALIFICATION OF MACHINE TO ROTARY BENDING OF NITI SUPERELASTIC WIRES IN FATIGUE TESTS

Abstract

In this work it was developed a rotating bending apparatus for fatigue tests of superelastic NiTi wires, and other materials with high elasticity. It was evaluated the performance, robustness, operability, and reliability through testing of 1 mm thick stainless steel wires. This device is mounted on a steel frame and features semiautomatic rotation speed control, time and testing bath temperature for sample immersion. The equipment qualification tests were performed controlling the following parameters: deformation of the wire, power level and ambient temperature. The results indicated lower discrepancies for the following parameters evaluated: number of cycles in fatigue life, rotation speed, the bath temperature and arc angle of rupture. Besides the reliability, the robustness and operability of the equipment also meet the purpose of the research as evidenced by the small number of failures in the qualification tests and calibration.

Keywords

• NiTi; Rotary bending fatigue; Superelasticity.