Comparative topographic study of surface micro‐relief of primary martensite plates in shape memory alloys with different crystalline structures

Abstract

AbstractThe surface micro‐reliefs of primary martensite plates, representative for two shape memory alloys (SMAs) with different crystalline structures were compared from qualitative and quantitative point of view by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, respectively. Qualitative evaluations revealed larger widths and heights of the primary plates of ε hexagonal close packed (hcp) martensite, in an Fe‐Mn‐Si‐Cr‐Ni SMA than those of β2′ orthorhombic (9R) martensite, in a Cu‐Zn‐Al SMA. Quantitative evaluations were based on systematic dimensional measurements of the width and height of primary plate profiles. The measurements were performed on one hundred and twenty five profiles, five on each martensite plate belonging to five typical groups of primary plates, with length above 50 micrometers, of both ε hcp and β2′ 9R martensites. In order to compare the topographies of the two types of plates a statistical evaluation of the dimensional intervals of width and height of measured plates was performed.