This paper presents an experimental and numerical study showing that single crystal shape memory alloy (SMA) Cu-based endodontic instruments can lead to equivalent mechanical performances compared to NiTi-based instruments besides their interesting biological properties. Following a previous finite element analysis (FEA) of single crystal CuAlBe endodontic instruments (Vincent et al 2015 J. Mater. Eng. Perform. 24 4128–39), prototypes with the determined geometrical parameters were machined and experimentally characterized in continuous rotation during a penetration/removal (P/R) protocol in artificial canals. The obtained mechanical responses were compared to responses of NiTi endodontic files in the same conditions. In addition, FEA was conducted and compared with the experimental results to validate the adopted modeling and to evaluate the local quantities inside the instrument as the stress state and the distribution of volume fraction of martensite. The obtained results highlight that single crystal CuAlBe SMA prototypes show equivalent mechanical responses to its NiTi homologous prototypes in the same P/R experimental conditions.

Design has an important influence on mechanical response of endodontic instruments made of shape memory alloys. The experimental and numerical prediction of their thermomechanical response is necessary to improve their behavior during operating inside root canal. Due to the curved and tapered shape of the dental canal, endodontic files are subjected to rotating bending during the root canal preparation phase. These rotative bending could ever be combined with torsion when the instruments are engined in the root canal. Bending and torsion tests available in the standard ISO 3630-1 do not take into account this combined loading leading to a response different from the one obtained by superposition of separated bending and torsion loadings. This article details the design and the realization of bending–torsion testing device particularly adapted to shape memory alloy endodontic files. It allows to control the torsion and the bending rotations in a separate or a combined way. Qualification tests using this bending–torsion testing device on NiTi wires showed a good agreement between the experimental and the simulated responses. Finally, this bending–torsion testing device allowed to analyze the response of various NiTi endodontic files, currently used in endodontics, subjected to bending, torsion, and combined bending–torsion loadings. Obtained results showed clearly that combined bending–torsion loading changes significantly the shape memory alloy file response.

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