The Effect of Cold Work, Heat Treatment, and Composition on the Austenite to R-Phase Transformation Temperature of Ni-Ti Shape Memory Alloys

Abstract

The influence of cold work (CW) and heat treatment (HT) on the austenite to R-Phase (A→R) transformation temperature (TT) of a near equiatomic and three other Ti rich NiTi SMA is examined. For the SMA having a near equiatomic composition, the A→R TT increases with increasing CW at low HT temperatures. For the SMA having the maximum possible Ti content, the A→R TT decreases with increasing CW at low HT temperatures. For all compositions, the A→R TT is not sensitive to CW at high HT temperatures. At a Ti content slightly below the maximum possible, the A→R TT is relatively insensitive to CW and HT temperature. For all of the SMA investigated, the A→R TT increases with increasing Ti content for a specific CW and HT temperature, and this effect is greatest at low CW and at high HT temperatures.