The temperature dependence of the crystallite nucleation and growth rates is measured for amorphous NiTi thin films. Using transmission electron microscopy, crystallites are shown to nucleate homogeneously in the film and to grow in a channeling mode. A mechanism that suppresses heterogeneous nucleation is proposed. By manipulating nucleation and growth rates, grains as large as 60 lm can be ob...

A simulator is developed to model and design high strain shape memory alloy (SMA) tension actuators. The simulator may be used predict characteristics of a given actuator, or to design its geometry under speci cations such as force, speed, stroke and size. The accuracy of the model is veri ed experimentally in reference to an existing NiTi shape memory alloy prototype actuator. Having developed...

A new diaphragm actuator based on the ferromagnetic shape memory alloy (FSMA) composite is designed where the FSMA composite is composed of ferromagnetic soft iron and superelastic grade of NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA). The actuation mechanism for the FSMA composite plate of the actuator is the hybrid mechanism that we proposed previously. This diaphragm actuator is the first design toward des...

Porous NiTi alloys has a series of unique properties such as shape memory effect, superelastic behavior and energy absorbability that make them usable in a wide range of medical and industrial appliances. But the more probability of Ni release from a porous NiTi compare to the nonporous one has restricted it’s uses in implants. In the present research for resolving the problem, performing a cal...

The shape memory effect and superelastic properties of NiTi (or Nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy) have already attracted much attention for various biomedical applications (such as vascular stents, orthodontic wires, orthopedic implants, etc). However, for vascular stents, conventional approaches have required coating NiTi with anti-thrombogenic or antiinflammatory drug-eluting polymers which a...

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) remains an incompletely understood disease, mostly striking old men. In fact, 40% of men over 50 show evidence of BPH [1]. The main consequence of BPH is an uncontrolled growth of prostate epithelial and stromal tissues. Eventually, this may lead to an acute urinary retention (AUR) [2], calling for an emergency treatment. Today, the first line treatment consis...