Part A — THEORY (2 days)

Day 1 — Physical Fundamentals and Constitutive Models (8h)

Morning [9.00 – 13.00]

• • General introduction: SMA, history of Nitinol and applications (medical, aerospace, automotive)
  • Ni-Ti composition, austenite ↔ martensite transformation, thermal and mechanical interactions

Afternoon [14.00-18.00]

• Mechanical properties: stress–strain curve, superelasticity, hysteresis loop, shape memory effect
• Overview of Nitinol constitutive models: phenomenological and micromechanical models (Auricchio/Souza, Boyd–Lagoudas, UMAT-implementable models)

Day 2 — Processing and Characterization (8h)

Morning [9.00-13.00]

• • Manufacturing processes for wires and stents (forming, shape-setting, annealing, passivation)
  • Shape memory training techniques and shape fixation

Afternoon [14.00-18.00]

• Experimental methods: DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry) for transformation temperatures, tensile testing, fatigue in bending/torsion, hysteresis/dissipation measurements
• Biocompatibility issues and medical device standards (overview: ISO, MDR/CE)

Part B — HANDS-ON (1 day)

Day 3 — Experimental and Simulation Activities (8h)

Morning [9.00-18.00] — Laboratory Activities

• • Preparation and fixturing of specimens (setup for tensile and bending tests)
  • Tensile testing at room temperature and controlled temperature
  • Data extraction: stress–strain curves, stress offset, residual strain
  • Thermomechanical cycling and cyclic fatigue testing
  • Post-processing and parameter extraction

Afternoon [14.00-18.00] — Abaqus Numerical Models

• Practical introduction to Nitinol modeling in Abaqus: UMAT implementation and built-in superelasticity models (hands-on examples)
• Setup of a simple curved wire release simulation (boundary conditions, thermal/mechanical steps)
• Comparison between FEA results and experimental data
• Show more advanced examples: stent modeling in Abaqus – crimping and deployment simulation