Effects of Yttrium Addition on Microstructure, Hardness and Resistance to Wear and Corrosive Wear of TiNi Alloy

TiNi alloy has a high resistance to wear and could be an excellent candidate for various tribological applications. In this paper, it was demonstrated that by addition of yttrium, hardness properties and resistance to wear and corrosive wear of TiNi alloy were improved. New yttrium rich regions were formed in microstructure of TiNi alloy. The improved properties of this alloy by the yttrium addition could be attributed to the formation of these regions. The results showed that there was an optimum content for addition of yttrium between 2% and 5% (in wt%), and above this content the improvement in properties of TiNi became minor.