Effects of Electric Pulse Treatment on Shape Memory Effect and Microstructure in a Pre-deformation Fe13Mn6Si13Cr4Ni0.1C Alloy

Effects of electric pulse treatment on shape memory effect and microstructure of a pre-deformed Fe13Mn6Si13Cr4Ni0.1C alloy were investigated. The results indicate that electric pulse treatment can accelerate the migration of Cr and C atoms and the precipitation of Cr23C6 carbides, lower ageing temperature, shorten ageing time and induce the nucleation of Cr23C6 carbides. Therefore, the shape recovery ratio can be increased to 87.2% from 32% of a water-quenched alloy within 300 s for the Fe13Mn6Si13Cr4Ni0.1C alloy by 300 V, 1100 μF, 1 Hz electric pulse treatment after 10% tensile pre-deformation compared to alloys aged at 973 and 1073 K followed by the same pre-deformation.