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On the Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Nitinol forBiomedical Stent Applications

Thesis/Dissertation ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/901533· OSTI ID:901533
 [1]
  1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
This dissertation was motivated by the alarming number of biomedical device failures reported in the literature, coupled with the growing trend towards the use of Nitinol for endovascular stents. The research is aimed at addressing two of the primary failure modes in Nitinol endovascular stents: fatigue-crack growth and overload fracture. The small dimensions of stents, coupled with their complex geometries and variability among manufacturers, make it virtually impossible to determine generic material constants associated with specific devices. Instead, the research utilizes a hybrid of standard test techniques (fracture mechanics and x-ray micro-diffraction) and custom-designed testing apparatus for the determination of the fracture properties of specimens that are suitable representations of self-expanding Nitinol stents. Specifically, the role of texture (crystallographic alignment of atoms) and the austenite-to-martensite phase transformation on the propagation of cracks in Nitinol was evaluated under simulated body conditions and over a multitude of stresses and strains. The results determined through this research were then used to create conservative safe operating and inspection criteria to be used by the biomedical community for the determination of specific device vulnerability to failure by fracture and/or fatigue.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) (SC-21)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
901533
Report Number(s):
LBNL--62454; BnR: KC0201020
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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