SeriesInformation ; Materials and design 113, 311 - 318(2017). doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2016.10.038 ; Abstract ; Composite Al structures reinforced with NiTi have been produced by solid-state joining process in order to preventbrittle intermetallics to form. For this, friction stir welding (FSW)was used in both the conventional and thehybrid variant assisted by electrical current. The hybrid process allows for a better bonding along the NiTi/Al interfacesince the material viscoplasticity promoted by the higher temperatures achieved during the process facilitatesthe material flow around the reinforcement. Mechanical characterization of the composites showed thatupon bending and pull-out tests, the composites produced by FSWassisted by electrical current have increasingmechanical properties. Microstructural characterization using synchrotron X-ray diffraction, revealed that compositesproducedwith the hybrid process exhibited a different transformation temperature of the NiTi reinforcements.The originally fully austenitic NiTi presented both martensite and austenite at room temperature afterprocessing, which can be taken as an advantage for applications where damping capacity of the shape memoryalloy is required. The ability to successfully join NiTi to Al may open new structural applications based on thesecomposites. ; Other ; Published by Elsevier Science, Amsterdam [u.a.]