Micro-resistance butt welding of NiTi shape memory alloy to 304 stainless steel micro-wires: Micro-structure evolution and inter-metallic compounds formation mechanisms
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2026
Micro-resistance butt welding of NiTi shape memory alloy to 304 stainless steel micro-wires: Micro-structure evolution and inter-metallic compounds formation mechanisms
Joining NiTi shape memory alloy and 304 stainless steel (SS) presents significant technical challenges, and studies on micro-resistance butt welding (MRBW) of such dissimilar materials are extremely scarce. This work uncovers the nanoscale micro-structure evolution and inter-metallic compounds (IMCs) formation mechanism of NiTi to 304 SS micro-wire joints with a diameter of 0.45 mm during MRBW. Atomic diffusion of Fe and Ni promotes the formation of Fe2Ti and Ni3Ti phases, which determines the thickness, morphology, and distribution of the interfacial IMC layer. Benefiting from the high-performance Ni3Ti phase, the joint fabricated at a welding current of 20 A exhibits the optimal comprehensive performance, with a tensile strength of up to 446 MPa and an elongation of 1.5%.
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