Using a modified Knoop Indentation Technique to estimate the cavitation erosion resistance of NiTi

An Ni-rich (50.8 at.% Ni) NiTi alloy was heat treated with different aging temperatures to obtain specimens possessing different cavitation erosion resistance. A modified Knoop Indentation Technique that combines indentation measurements and thermal recovery has been used to determine the total-recovery/deformation ratio for the heat-treated NiTi specimens. This ratio, which reflects both superelasticity and pseudoplasticity, has been found to correlate well with the cavitation erosion resistance for NiTi. The technique thus serves as a simple method for estimating the performance of NiTi against cavitation erosion.