Effect of cooling rate on the phase transformation behavior and mechanical properties of Ni-rich NiTi shape memory alloy

TiNi alloy is a well-known shape memory alloy and has been widely used for bio-medical, mechanical and electrical applications. In this study, a Ni-rich NiTi alloy was prepared by vacuum arc melting in a water-cooled copper crucible. Three samples of this alloy were heated to 1000 °C and cooled in three media: furnace, water, and dry-ice bath. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), hardness measurement and tensile test were carried out to investigate the effect of cooling rate on transformation temperature and mechanical properties. The results show that Ni3Ti intermetallic compounds have a great influence on martensitic phase transformation temperature. These tests clearly showed the correlation between cooling rate and properties of the alloy.