Phase transformation behavior of pseudoelastic NiTi shape memory alloys under large strain

Although it is known that the plastic deformation after transformation could stabilize martensite and make the transformation irreversible, there lacks a systematic research on the effect of plasticity on phase transformation behavior of NiTi shape memory alloys (SMAs). Therefore, the present study focuses on this aspect of NiTi SMAs. A series of tensile cycling experiments are performed on a NiTi SMA at room temperature. Attention has been paid to the characteristics of the phase transformation stresses, the residual and recoverable strain and the dissipated and recoverable energy density as functions of deformation cycles and maximum strain amplitude. With the increasing of plastic strain amplitude at the first loading cycle, the stress–strain curves reach a stable state sooner during cycling. It is concluded that a small amount of plastic strain at the first loading cycle is helpful to get good stable mechanical properties.