Sensors and Actuators A 254 (2017) 28–35

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Sensors and Actuators A: Physical

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sna

Investigations on the life cycle behavior of Cu-Al-Ni/polyimide shape

memory alloy bi-morph at varying substrate thickness and actuation
conditions
Akash K a , Mani Prabu S S b , Ashish K. Shukla b , Tameshwer Nath a , Karthick S a ,
I.A. Palani a,b,∗
a
Mechatronics and Instrumentation Lab, Discipline of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
b
Metallurgy Engineering and Material Science, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this work, a two-way displacing Cu-Al-Ni/Polyimide shape memory alloy bi-morph without any post
Received 24 June 2016 processing has been developed. The forward stroke was achieved with shape memory effect and the
Received in revised form return stroke was due to the influence of flexible polyimide substrate. A custom made setup with electrical
26 November 2016
heating was developed to investigate the life cycle of the bi-morph at different voltages, ranging from
Accepted 7 December 2016
2 V to 3 V. The austenite transformation temperatures of the bi-morph, was found to be As = 215 ◦ C and
Available online 8 December 2016
Af = 240 ◦ C. Shape recovery ratio was calculated and the shape memory alloy deposited on 75 ␮m thick
polyimide sheet exhibited better recoverability than 50 ␮m thick sheets. Further, maximum displacement
Keywords:
Shape memory materials
of 19 mm was observed from the edge of the bi-morph through plate heating. The effect of substrate
Cu-Al-Ni thickness on the life cycle behavior of the bi-morph was investigated. The bi-morph showed minor signs
Bi-morph of deformation when actuated at 0.5 Hz after 500 cycles. In addition the structural, morphological and
Phase transformation thermal behavior of the SMA bi-morph has been investigated in detail.
Life cycle © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction MEMS devices. Although there are reports on thermomechanical

Shape memory alloys (SMA’s) are smart material which can
recover its original geometry on the application of heat. Twin-
ning is an important microstructural process responsible for the
shape memory effect. The SMA’s can remember up to three differ-
ent shapes while transforming from low temperature martensite
phase to high temperature austenite phase [1,2]. MEMS devices
which use thin film shape memory alloys have a work output that
often exceeds the other actuating mechanisms such as piezoelec-
tric, pneumatic. Further, these alloys can recover strains up to 8%
[3–6] and owing to their exceptional properties, these alloys have
been widely used in micro-actuators such as micro-grippers, micro-
pumps and micro-cantilevers [7–11]. However, thin film SMA has
very less practical usage as the training process after fabrication to
obtain two way shape memory effect, hindering its applicability in
∗ Corresponding author at: Mechatronics and Instrumentation Lab, Discipline of
Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Madhya Pradesh,
India.
E-mail addresses: akash.k1806@gmail.com (A. K), palaniia@iiti.ac.in,
palaniia@gmail.com (I.A. Palani).
behavior and fatigue life analysis of bulk SMA’s [12–17], very few
papers discuss the fatigue life of thin film shape memory alloys.
Silicon wafers are widely used for developing thin films, where
the film is peeled off after deposition process. Recently Kapton
Polyimide (PI) substrates are considered for the development of
thin composite structures, where the substrate acts along with the
deposited material. SMA/Polyimide composite-film actuators are
flexible films, which has SMA on one face and the polyimide sub-
strate on the other. These bi-morph structures are more suitable for
the development of SMA thin films, as the return stroke during the
thermomechanical cycle is accomplished by the bias force of the
flexible substrate. Further the flexible substrates can be obtained
in several other shapes according to the requirement, thus avoid-
ing the training performed after deposition. Cantilever made out
of SMA/PI bi-morphs developed through sputtering was studied in
detail [18,19]. Recently NiTi/Polyimide composite actuated using a
1.5 V battery as a wing of dragonfly, has paved way for further more
microactuators [20,21].
Cu-Al-Ni can be an attractive and cost effective solution and it
has the potential to replace the conventionally used NiTi [22,23].
In addition to this, copper based shape memory alloys can be
used in high temperature applications as the transformations tem-

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2016.12.008
0924-4247/© 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/
4.0/).
 A. K et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 254 (2017) 28–35
Fig. 1. (a) Thermal evaporation setup, (b) Life cycle analysis setup.
perature are beyond 200 ◦ C. Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys has
been proved to show 18% recoverable strain which is much higher
when compared to conventionally demonstrated Ni-Ti [24,25].
Their properties such as good machinability, ease in forming pro-
cess, high thermal stability, rapid heating and cooling rate, less
hysteresis and higher Young’s modulus acts as major advantage
[26,27]. Further the transformation temperatures of these alloys
can be altered by changing the percentage of Ni in the alloy.
In this work, an attempt has been made to develop Cu-
Al-Ni/Polyimide bi-morph at different substrate thickness and
investigate its life cycle behavior at different actuation conditions.
The influence of substrate thickness on thermal properties and the
fatigue life of the composite film have been studied in detail and
the suitability to use the as developed bi-morph as micro-actuator
has been explored.
2. Experimental procedure
Wires of Copper, Aluminum and Nickel were precisely measured
using a precision balance and made into 100 mg pellets with Cu-
14Al- 4Ni wt.% (Sigma Aldrich, purity 99.9%) composition. These
pellets were loaded on to a tungsten boat (crucible) placed in
the system chamber and high vacuum of 10−5 Pa was maintained
throughout the evacuation process. The deposition was carried out
using a large area thermal evaporation system
Fig. 1(a) shows the schematic layout of the experimental setup
used for the deposition process. The deposition was carried out
on DuPont-Kapton polyimide HN-type sheets of 50 ␮m and 75 ␮m
thickness. The sheets were cut into 7 × 7 cm2 samples, baked and
cleaned prior to deposition. The procured polyimide had a pre-set
shape to it, which was semicircular in this case. During deposition
the sheets were clamped to substrate holder in a flat and uniform
manner for homogenous deposition. The deposition was carried out
in two steps where the first step was to allow the materials to melt
at the eutectic temperature and form an alloy in the molten state.
Once all the metals were present in molten state, the temperature
was increased rapidly beyond 1500 ◦ C, which led the evaporation
of the materials placed in the crucible. The evaporated material
deposited on the polyimide samples placed 15 cm above the cru-
cible. Due to heat convection the substrate temperature increased
to 40 ◦ C. In order to study the morphological, structural and thermal
properties, the samples were characterized with X-Ray diffraction,
29
Scanning Electron Microscope analysis, Thermogravimetry analysis
and Temperature vs. resistance measurements.
To probe the suitability of the developed bi-morph in MEMS
micro-actuator application, electrical actuation setup was utilized
as shown in Fig. 1(b). Life cycle of the bi-morph has to investi-
gated thoroughly before considering it for potential applications
[16,28,29]. It consist of K-type thermocouple, data acquisition sys-
tem with 22 channels (Model: 34970A, Agilent) and programmable
power supply. The heating and cooling cycles was recorded by a
laser displacement sensor (Model: HLG108-A-C5, Panasonic). Three
different voltages 2 V, 2.5 V and 3 V were used for the analysis.
Fig. 1(b) shows the life cycle analysis setup. Using the setup two
different frequencies of 0.05 Hz and 0.5 Hz was exercised. In order
to obtain the maximum displacement of the bi-morph at different
voltages 0.05 Hz was utilized and 0.5 Hz was used for fatigue life
analysis. The fatigue life was tested for 500 cycles and the results
are summarized.
3. Results and discussion
Fig. 2(a) shows the detwinned martensite shape of the deposited
material and Fig. 2(b) shows the transformation to austenite phase
during the application of heat. During deposition, the polyimide
sheet is clamped to a substrate holder and the deposited mate-
rial will be in twinned martensite state. Once the deposited sheet
was removed from the holder, thermal stresses of the deposited
material tend to propagate in the direction of the pre-set polyimide
shape. In this case it tends to form a semi-circular shape with the
deposited material on the external surface forming the detwinned
martensite structure. The thermal stress is more at the epicenter
of the semi-circle and it gradually reduces as it reaches the periph-
ery. On the application of heat, the bi-morph transforms from the
detwinned martensite phase to the austenite phase. During actu-
ation, the material will incline towards the pre-strained shape or
the clamped position during deposition, which acts as the residual
stress free shape. This process can be repeated in cycles and thus
the developed bi-morphs did not require any training.
3.1. Morphological, structural and thermal analysis
The thickness of the deposited film was found to be 300 nm as
measured by the quartz crystal oscillator present inside the deposi-
30 A. K et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 254 (2017) 28–35
Fig. 2. (a) Image of the Detwinned martensite structure with a scale, (b) Image of
the austenite structure achieved after heating.
tion chamber. Adhesion of the film was excellent as observed from
the scotch tape analysis, which showed no removal of the deposited
SMA film. The shape memory alloy deposited on varying thickness
of polyimide sheets, displayed similar morphological and structural
information. Fig. 3(a) shows the microscopic image of the as devel-
oped bi-morph. It was observed that, the morphology of the film
was uniform without any cracks or porosity and the average grain
size was approximately 100 nm which is far less than convention-
ally developed alloy through casting [30–34]. Therefore additional
Fig. 3. (a) Microscopic image of the as developed sample, (b) XRD plot showing the ␤ (110) phase and other structural information (c) Thermogravimetry analysis showing
the decomposition temperature of bare polyimide and SMA/PI samples. (d) Temperature vs. resistance graph showing the austenite start and finish temperatures.
Table 1
Composition analysis results obtained from EDAX analysis.
Substrate thickness Cu Al Ni
(Atomic%) (Atomic%) (Atomic%)
50 ␮m 82.46% 13.73% 3.81%
75 ␮m 82.43% 13.61% 3.96%
material such as Titanium was not used for grain refinement. The
elemental analysis of the developed films was studied using Energy
dispersive spectroscopy, performed at five different places and the
average atomic percentage is reported in Table 1. The results show
a minor deviation from the nominal composition. The results show
the films having homogenous composition was developed through
the proposed method.
Fig. 3(b) shows the X-Ray diffraction pattern and it can be
observed that the evolution of crystalline peak corresponding to
␤ (220) (ICSD pattern, card no: 01-072-3498) martensitic struc-
ture and other ␣ and ␥ phases were present [35,36]. However, the
signal from the XRD was very coarse and the evolution of other
martensite peaks was not evident. The crystallite size calculated
using Scherrer formula was 6.67 nm. The transformation between
the two phases depends on the structural properties and the com-
position of the alloy [37]. Structural properties such as single crystal
or polycrystalline alloys, affects the shape memory effect vastly
as single crystal shape memory alloys are better because of the
defined transformation between one phase to another [38–40].
Whereas, polycrystalline alloys have a difficulty in remember-
ing their low temperature structure as the probability of cycling
between two different phase are high [41]. Furthermore, polycrys-
talline alloy shows recoverable strains up to 5% only, corresponding
to brittleness and order less phase transition, which reduces the
 A. K et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 254 (2017) 28–35
shape recovery significantly [42–44]. Parameters such as heat
treatment, ageing, addition of other materials and training of the
polycrystalline alloys at two particular phases [33,45–49] can have
significant effect in the shape memory effect.
Fig. 3(c) shows the TGA analysis of the bi-morph as well as
the bare polyimide sheet where, single stage decomposition was
observed. Sample amount of 5 mg were used for the analysis and
the heating rate was maintained at 10 ◦ C/min. The samples started
degrading gradually from 390 ◦ C and the initial decomposition rate
(IDR) of both the samples was less than 5% till 500 ◦ C. From 505 ◦ C
the Cu-Al-Ni/Polyimide sample weight loss was rapid and the bi-
morph was completely decomposed at 670 ◦ C. The maximum rate
of decomposition temperature (MRDT) was found to be in the range
of 500 ◦ C–670 ◦ C. However the bare polyimide exhibited a different
decomposition rate and the sample got completely decomposed
at 725 ◦ C. The rapid decomposition of Cu-Al-Ni/polyimide samples
may be attributed to the ability of the alloys to absorb heat which
might result in conduction of the polyimide samples. The decompo-
sition temperature range assisted in relating the voltage required
during electrical actuation. To further locate the phase transition
temperature of the developed bi-morphs, a four probe van der
pauw method which provides temperature vs. resistance measure-
ments was utilized. The samples were cut in 2 × 2 cm2 sheets and
silver conducting paste (1–3 × 10−5 W-cm) was used to make the
contacts. Heating was controlled at 5 ◦ C/min and the analysis was
conducted at argon atmosphere. Fig. 3(d) shows the temperature
vs. resistance measurement. The austenite start and finish temper-
atures was observed at 215 ◦ C and 240 ◦ C.
3.2. Shape recovery ratio analysis
In order to investigate the shape recovery ratio and maxi-
mum displacement from the edge of the bi-morph a test bench
with substrate heating was designed to heat and cool the bi-
morph. A 7 × 2 cm2 Cu-Al-Ni/polyimide sheet was clamped to a
substrate heater with thermal tape. It was found that the maxi-
mum displacement was achieved only with substrate heating as the
contact points reached the degradation temperature at higher volt-
ages with electrical actuation. Fig. 4(a) shows the shape recovery
ratio Dr vs temperature plot. The recovery ratio increases during
heating and it returns back to its original value as the bi-morph
transforms from high temperature austenite phase to low temper-
ature martensite phase. 75 ␮m polyimide sheets exhibited a higher
recovery ratio of 1.38 whereas, 50 ␮m sheet exhibited only 1.21
ratio. The recovery ratio was calculated by finding the diameter of
the curved bi-morph structure at various temperatures. The recov-
ery ratio gradually decreased during cooling as the sheet recovered
to its original position. The recovery ratio is higher than previously
reported works on shape memory alloy/polyimide bi-morph. This
demonstrated the ability of the developed samples to exhibit two
way shape memory effect, with polyimide acting as a bias force
during cooling.
Fig. 4(b) shows the time vs. displacement and time vs. tem-
perature plots of the samples deposited on 75 ␮m sheets. The
temperature of the plate during first cycle was 250 ◦ C and for
the second and the third cycle the temperature was increased to
300 ◦ C. By performing this, the thermal fatigue limit of the bi-morph
was deduced. It can be observed that a maximum displacement
of 19 mm was achieved from the edge of the bi-morph. The time
required to reach this maximum displacement during heating was
37 s. The cooling cycle takes more time as natural heat convection
was allowed to cool the sample. The cooling time was approxi-
mately 75 s and the film retuned to its original position after 110 s,
without any plastic deformation. As the temperature was increased
to 300 ◦ C, the displacement of the bi-morph reduced to 17 mm,
and the retraction took same time as the first cooling cycle. When
31
the temperature was raised slightly above 300 ◦ C, as seen in the
third cycle, the maximum displacement was only 12 mm and the
film did not return to its original position. The return stroke was
limited to 6 mm due to plastic deformation of the bi-morph. There-
fore, 230 ◦ C–250 ◦ C is the appropriate actuation temperature range,
where the maximum displacement was observed.
Fig. 4(c) and (d) shows the hysteresis curve of the first two cycles
of the bimorph structure. In the first cycle it can be noticed from
the hysteresis graph at Fig. 4(c) that the displacement continues to
increase for approximately 5 s even after the heating is stopped. On
the contrary, the hysteresis for second cycle as shown in Fig. 4(d),
exhibited a minimal hysteresis. Even though there was reduction in
major hysteresis loop, it exhibited a complex behavior as observed
from the minor decline in displacement. The reason for the reduced
hysteresis loop might be due the attainment of maximum displace-
ment in the previous cycle. After saturation the bi-morph will be
more sensitive to the temperature changes which could result in
low hysteresis. The hysteresis plots show that the as developed
bimorphs can have very low hysteresis after attaining its saturation,
at specific actuation temperatures. Further, temperatures beyond
300 ◦ C are not suitable for actuation since there is irrecoverable
plastic strain as observed from the third cycle, where there was a
drastic decline in displacement caused majorly due to high temper-
atures. Fig. 4(e) shows the actuation of the bimorph during heating
placed in front of calibrated scale. The deflection can be clearly seen
from the images.
3.3. Life cycle analysis
To investigate the cyclic behavior and the fatigue life of the
developed structures, electrical actuation was employed. Three dif-
ferent voltages of 2 V, 2.5 V and 3 V were selected and two different
frequencies of 0.05 Hz and 0.5 Hz were used for the investigations.
0.05 Hz was used to find the maximum displacement at different
voltages and 0.5 Hz was used as an initial value to study the suit-
ability of the bi-morph in MEMS actuators. Fig. 5(a) shows the
maximum displacement graph for samples deposited on 50 ␮m
polyimide sheet. The maximum displacement achieved with 2 V,
2.5 V and 3 V was 2.8 mm, 4.1 mm and 4.6 mm respectively. For
2 V and 2.5 V the bi-morph returns to its original position with-
out any deformation. However at 3 V, the cycle was incomplete as
the bi-morph showed a loss of 0.5 mm in displacement during cool-
ing. First cycle had larger displacement however once the actuation
frequency was attained the maximum displacement was 2.5 mm,
3.4 mm and 3.8 mm respectively. Fig. 5(b) shows the maximum dis-
placement graph for samples deposited on 75 ␮m polyimide sheets.
The plots displayed a similar behavior as compared to 50 ␮m sheet
where the bi-morph failed to return to original position during
cooling. Nevertheless the maximum displacements achieved with
different voltages were 4.1 mm, 7.2 mm and 9.2 mm.
The bi-morph was tested for its fatigue life at 0.5 Hz for 500
cycles. Fig. 5(c) shows the life cycle of samples deposited on 50 ␮m
polyimide sheet. The bi-morph showed minor fluctuations in dis-
placement however an average displacement of 0.5 mm, 0.6 mm
and 0.65 mm was observed with different voltages. The 75 ␮m
thick Cu-Al-Ni/polyimide bi-morphs showed no signs of fatigue
and exhibited a consistent and steady displacement of 0.75 mm,
1.05 and 1.4 mm.
The stiffness of 50 ␮m polyimide sheets is lower than 75 ␮m
sheets, which directly affect the magnitude of pre-strain applied
to the sheets. After deposition, the developed films generate a
compressive stress which tends to act against the stiffness of the
polyimide substrate. This was distinct, as there was increase in cur-
vature of the bi-morph. Further the radius of curvature of 50 ␮m
sheets was higher due to its low stiffness. As observed from the
shape recovery ratio graphs the shape memory effect of 50 ␮m
32 A. K et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 254 (2017) 28–35

Fig. 4. (a) Shape recovery ratio of 50 ␮m and 75 ␮m SMA/polyimide bimorph, (b) cyclic heating and cooling to find the maximum displacement of the bimorph, (c) hysteresis
curve showing the time lag which was high at initial stages, (d) Hysteresis plot after attaining maximum displacement (e) pictures of the bimorph at various stages of
actuation.

bi-morph sheets, was not sufficient to recover from the compres-
sive stress completely. Also the inability of 50 ␮m to overcome the
stress, with the given actuation conditions was evident from the
fluctuations observed in the life cycle analysis. Whereas in case
of 75 ␮m sheet the stress induced in the SMA film was recov-
ered with all the actuation conditions. Stiffness and the residual
stress was optimum for the SMA film to recover its shape effort-
lessly.
As it can be observed from the life cycle analysis, 50 ␮m
CuAlNi/polyimide bi-morphs has unstable actuation behavior with
fluctuations. The displacement was constantly varying during
actuation at varying frequencies and voltage. There was no satu-
ration attained even after 500 cycles. However, 75 ␮m bi-morphs
displacement presented a steady and stable actuation behavior
throughout the 500 cycles.
4. Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that Cu-Al-
Ni/polyimide bi-morphs developed through thermal evaporation
showed cyclic repeatability. The results are summarized as
- XRD results a high intensity peak corresponding to ␤ (220) and
the crystallite size was found to be 6.67 nm, which shows the
crystallinity of the developed structures.
- SEM images showed a continuous film with a grain size of approx-
imately 100 nm.
- The thermal decomposition of the Cu-Al-Ni/Polyimide bi-morph
was rapid when compared to bare polyimide sheet as confirmed
by TGA analysis.
- The austenite transformation temperature was found to be
As = 215 ◦ C and Af = 240 ◦ C measured by temperature vs resistance
plots.
- The bi-morph structures without any post-processing and train-
ing, showed maximum displacement of 19 mm during both
heating and cooling cycles.
- The shape recovery ratio was calculated and it was found that
75 ␮m polyimide sheet had better recoverability of than 50 ␮m.
- The cyclic behavior was studied using an electrical actuation and
the bi-morph was tested for 500 cycles and the bi-morph showed
minor signs of deviation from the average displacement.
- 75 ␮m thick polyimide substrate has a stable life as compared to
50 ␮m sheets and has a better applicability in devices

- The adhesion between Cu-Al-Ni and polyimide was tested using The as developed structures are suitable to be used as high tem-
scotch tape analysis and there was no removal of the deposited perature actuators such as a bi-morph in electrical circuit breaker as
SMA film. shown in Fig. 6. Conventionally a bimetallic strip is used for smaller,
 A. K et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 254 (2017) 28–35 33

Fig. 5. (a) Maximum displacement obtained through electrical actuation for 50 ␮m PI, (b) Maximum displacement obtained through electrical actuation for 75 ␮m PI (c) Life
cycles analysis of 50 ␮m showing the deviation in displacement for the measured 500 cycles (d) Life cycles analysis of 75 ␮m showing the deviation in displacement for the
measured 500 cycles.

heating process can be utilized as a mechanism for analyzing the

effect of substrate thickness for large cycles.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mr. Mayank Modak from heat
Transfer Lab IIT Indore and Mr. Shivendra K Pandey from Phase
Change Memory Lab IIT Indore for helping us with our characteriza-
tion. We would also like the thank Molecular and Nano-Electronics
Research Group (MNRG) from IIT Indore for their valuable sup-
port during the work. The authors are grateful for the continuous
support from Sophisticated Instrumentation Centre of IIT Indore.

References

Fig. 6. MEMS circuit breaker applications (a) Contacts Closed (b) Contacts Open.
longer-term over currents. The bi-morph can be attached to a heat-
ing element and when the current flowing through the circuit is
higher than estimated range, the material will get heated and in
turn the bi-morph will be actuated. The bi-morph can lift up to
0.32 g consequently enabling it be used in other applications like
microflapper or microposition stage. Further, the proposed Joule
[1] J. Mohd Jani, M. Leary, A. Subic, M.A. Gibson, A review of shape memory alloy
research, applications and opportunities, Mater. Des. 56 (2014) 1078–1113,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2013.11.084.
[2] M. Bergamasco, P. Dario, F. Salsedo, Shape memory alloy microactuators,
Sens. Actuators A Phys. 21 (1990) 253–257, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0924-
4247(90)85049-A.
[3] J. San Juan, M.L. Nó, C.A. Schuh, Superelasticity and shape memory in micro-
and nanometer-scale pillars, Adv. Mater. 20 (2008) 272–278, http://dx.doi.
org/10.1002/adma.200701527.
[4] C. Lexcellent, Shape-memory Alloys Handbook, 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.
1002/9781118577776.
[5] S. Shiva, I.A. Palani, C.P. Paul, S.K. Mishra, B. Singh, Investigations on phase
transformation and mechanical characteristics of laser additive manufactured
TiNiCu shape memory alloy structures, J. Mater. Process. Technol. 238 (2016)
142–151, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2016.07.012.
[6] S. Shiva, S.K. Palani, C.P. Mishra, L.M. Kukreja, Investigations on the influence
of composition in the development of Ni–Ti shape memory alloy using laser
34 A. K et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 254 (2017) 28–35
based additive manufacturing, Opt. Laser Technol. 69 (2015) 44–51, http://dx.
doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2014.12.014.
[7] Y. Fu, H. Du, W. Huang, S. Zhang, M. Hu, TiNi-based thin films in MEMS
applications: a review, Sens. Actuators A Phys. 112 (2004) 395–408, http://dx.
doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2004.02.019.
[8] E. Makino, T. Mitsuya, T. Shibata, Fabrication of TiNi shape memory
micropump, Sens. Actuators A Phys. 88 (2001) 256–262, http://dx.doi.org/10.
1016/S0924-4247(00)00522-7.
[9] W.L. Benard, H. Kahn, A.H. Heuer, M.A. Huff, Thin-film shape-memory alloy
actuated micropumps, J. Microelectromech. Syst. 7 (1998) 245–251, http://dx.
doi.org/10.1109/84.679390.
[10] J. Abadie, N. Chaillet, C. Lexcellent, An integrated shape memory alloy
micro-actuator controlled by thermoelectric effect, Sens. Actuators A Phys. 99
(2002) 297–303, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0924-4247(01)00832-9.
[11] Z.G. Wei, R. Sandstroröm, S. Miyazaki, Shape-memory materials and hybrid
composites for smart systems: part I shape-memory materials, J. Mater. Sci.
33 (1998) 3743–3762, http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1004692329247.
[12] G. Eggeler, E. Hornbogen, A. Yawny, A. Heckmann, M. Wagner, Structural and
functional fatigue of NiTi shape memory alloys, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 378 (2004)
24–33, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2003.10.327.
[13] E. Hornbogen, Review thermo-mechanical fatigue of shape memory alloys, J.
Mater. Sci. 39 (2004) 385–399, http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:JMSC.
0000011492.88523.d3.
[14] S. Miyazaki, K. Mizukoshi, T. Ueki, T. Sakuma, Y. Liu, Fatigue life of Ti–50 at.%
Ni and Ti–40Ni–10Cu (at.%) shape memory alloy wires, Mater. Sci. Eng. A
273–275 (1999) 658–663, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0921-5093(99)00344-5.
[15] K.N. Melton, O. Mercier Brown, Fatigue life of CuZnA1 alloys, Scr. Metall. 13
(1973) 73–75, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004.
[16] D.C. Lagoudas, D.A. Miller, L. Rong, P.K. Kumar, Thermomechanical fatigue of
shape memory alloys, Smart Mater. Struct. 18 (2009) 85021, http://dx.doi.org/
10.1088/0964-1726/18/8/085021.
[17] D. Chatziathanasiou, Y. Chemisky, G. Chatzigeorgiou, F. Meraghni, Modeling of
coupled phase transformation and reorientation in shape memory alloys
under non-proportional thermomechanical loading, Int. J. Plast. 82 (2016)
192–224, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijplas.2016.03.005.
[18] V.G. Kotnur, F.D. Tichelaar, G.C.A.M. Janssen, Sputter deposited Ni-Ti thin
films on polyimide substrate, Surf. Coat. Technol. 222 (2013) 44–47, http://dx.
doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2013.01.058.
[19] V.G. Kotnur, F.D. Tichelaar, W.T. Fu, J.T.M. De Hosson, G.C.A.M. Janssen, Shape
memory NiTi thin films deposited at low temperature, Surf. Coat. Technol.
258 (2014) 1145–1151, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0921-5093(99)00403-7.
[20] A. Ishida, Ti–Ni–Cu/polyimide composite-film actuator and simulation tool,
Sens. Actuators A Phys. 222 (2015) 228–236, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.
2014.12.012.
[21] A. Ishida, M. Sato, Ti-Ni-Cu shape-memory alloy thin film formed on
polyimide substrate, Thin Solid Films 516 (2008) 7836–7839, http://dx.doi.
org/10.1016/j.tsf.2008.04.091.
[22] Dimitris C. Lagoudas, Shape Memory Alloys: Modeling and Engineering
Applications, Springer, 2008, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-47685-8.
[23] F.C. Lovey, A.M. Condó, J. Guimpel, M.J. Yacamán, Shape memory effect in thin
films of a Cu-Al-Ni alloy, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 481-482 (2008) 426–430, http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2007.01.175.
[24] H. Yin, Y. Yan, Y. Huo, Q. Sun, Rate dependent damping of single crystal
CuAlNi shape memory alloy, Mater. Lett. 109 (2013) 287–290, http://dx.doi.
org/10.1016/j.matlet.2013.07.062.
[25] Y.Q. Fu, J.K. Luo, A.J. Flewitt, W.M. Huang, S. Zhang, H.J. Du, W.I. Milne, Thin
film shape memory alloys and microactuators, Int. J. Comput. Mater. Sci. Surf.
Eng. 2 (2009) 208, http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJCMSSE.2009.027483.
[26] V.E.A. Araujo, R. Gastien, E. Zelaya, J.I. Beiroa, I. Corro, M. Sade, F.C. Lovey,
Effects on the martensitic transformations and the microstructure of CuAlNi
single crystals after ageing at 473 K, J. Alloys Compd. 641 (2015) 155–161,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2015.04.065.
[27] C. Seguı, Characterization of a hot-rolled Cu Al Ni Ti shape memory alloy,
Mater. Sci. Eng. A 275 (1999) 625–629.
[28] D.A. Miller, D.C. Lagoudas, Thermomechanical characterization of NiTiCu and
NiTi SMA actuators: influence of plastic strains, Smart Mater. Struct. 9 (2000)
640–652, http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/9/5/308.
[29] S.G. Shu, D.C. Lagoudas, D. Hughes, J.T. Wen, Modeling of a flexible beam
actuated by shape memory alloy wires, Smart Mater. Struct. 6 (1997) 265,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0020-7225(95)00074-8.
[30] T. Inoue, Z. Horita, H. Somekawa, K. Ogawa, Effect of initial grain sizes on
hardness variation and strain distribution of pure aluminum severely
deformed by compression tests, Acta Mater. 56 (2008) 6291–6303, http://dx.
doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2008.08.042.
[31] M. Izadinia, K. Dehghani, Structure and properties of nanostructured Cu-13.
2Al-5.1Ni shape memory alloy produced by melt spinning, Trans. Nonferrous
Met. Soc. China 21 (2011) 2037–2043, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1003-
6326(11)60969-2.
[32] U. Sari, T. Kirindi, Effects of deformation on microstructure and mechanical
properties of a Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloy, Mater. Charact. 59 (2008)
920–929, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2007.07.017.
[33] S.K. Vajpai, R.K. Dube, S. Sangal, Application of rapid solidification powder
metallurgy processing to prepare Cu-Al-Ni high temperature shape memory
alloy strips with high strength and high ductility, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 570
(2013) 32–42, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2013.01.063.
[34] V. Sampath, Studies on the effect of grain refinement and thermal processing
on shape memory characteristics of Cu–Al–Ni alloys, Smart Mater. Struct. 14
(2005) S253–S260, http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/14/5/013.
[35] S.M. Chentouf, M. Bouabdallah, J.C. Gachon, E. Patoor, A. Sari, Microstructural
and thermodynamic study of hypoeutectoidal Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys,
J. Alloys Compd. 470 (2009) 507–514, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.
2008.03.009.
[36] C. Espinoza Torres, A.M. Condó, E. Haberkorn, D. Zelaya, J. Schryvers, F.C.
Lovey, Structures in textured Cu–Al–Ni shape memory thin films grown by
sputtering, Mater. Charact. 96 (2014) 256–262, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
matchar.2014.08.005.
[37] A. Bhattacharyya, D.C. Lagoudas, Shape memory alloys, Smart Mater. Struct.
16 (2007), http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/16/1/E01.
[38] C. Picornell, J. Pons, E. Cesari, Mechanical stabilisation and anomalous
behaviour of the stress-strain loops in Cu-Al-Ni single crystals, Scr. Mater. 54
(2006) 459–463, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2005.10.002.
[39] R. Gastien, C.E. Corbellani, H.N. Álvarez Villar, M. Sade, F.C. Lovey,
Pseudoelastic cycling in Cu-14.3Al-4.1Ni (wt%) single crystals, Mater. Sci. Eng.
A 349 (2003) 191–196, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0921-5093(02)00789-X.
[40] J.J. Zhu, N.G. Liang, M. Cai, K.M. Liew, W.M. Huang, Theory of phase
transformation and reorientation in single crystalline shape memory alloys,
Smart Mater. Struct. 17 (2008) 15041, http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/
17/01/015041.
[41] Z. Nishiyama, Martensitic Transformation, Academic Press, 1978.
[42] Z. Bo, D.C. Lagoudas, Thermomechanical modeling of polycrystalline SMAs
under cyclic loading, part III: evolution of plastic strains and two-way shape
memory effect, Int. J. Eng. Sci. 37 (1999) 1175–1203, http://dx.doi.org/10.
1016/S0020-7225(98)00115-3.
[43] K. Sapozhnikov, S. Golyandin, S. Kustov, J. Van Humbeeck, R. Schaller, R. De
Batist, Transient internal friction during thermal cycling of Cu-Al-Ni single
crystals in ␤ 1 martensitic phase, Scr. Mater. 47 (2002) 459–465, http://dx.
doi.org/10.1016/S1359-6462(02)00162-8.
[44] A. Creuziger, W.C. Crone, Observation and prediction of out-of-plane
deformation in CuAlNi, Scr. Mater. 59 (2008) 95–98, http://dx.doi.org/10.
1016/j.scriptamat.2008.02.035.
[45] F.J.M. Gallardo, G. Paul, J. Strittmatter, Phase change behavior of nitinol shape
memory alloys influence of heat and thermomechanical treatments, Adv. Eng.
Mater. 4 (2002) 437–451, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/1527-2648(20020717).
[46] A.M. Takhakh, A. Rahim, K.A. Ali, Effect of Ta addition on hardness and wear
resist of Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloy fabricated by powder metallurgy, IEEE
Bus. Eng. Ind. Appl. Colloq. (2013) 327–332.
[47] S.N. Saud, E. Hamzah, T. Abubakar, H.R. Bakhsheshi-Rad, S. Farahany, A.
Abdolahi, M.M. Taheri, Influence of silver nanoparticles addition on the phase
transformation, mechanical properties and corrosion behaviour of Cu-Al-Ni
shape memory alloys, J. Alloys Compd. 612 (2014) 471–478, http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.jallcom.2014.05.173.
[48] C. Chen, T. Liu, Phase transformations in a Cu-14.2 Al-12.0 Ni alloy, Scr. Mater.
47 (2002) 515–520 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1359-6462(02)00192-6.
[49] V. Recarte, I. Hurtado, J. Herreros, M.L. Nó, J. San Juan, Precipitation of the
stable phases in Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys, Scr. Mater. 34 (1996)
255–260, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/1359-6462(95)00493-9.
Biographies
Akash K is currently working as a PhD Scholar at IIT Indore.
Before joining IIT Indore, he was employed as a Project
Officer at IIT Madras in Super-luminescent based trace gas
sensing project. He completed his Master’s Degree from
Vellore institute of Technology at 2012 in Mechatronics
branch. His areas of interest includes Micro fabrication,
Materials Science and Mechatronics.
Mani Prabu S S obtained his Master’s degree from Anna
University, Chennai in 2015. He is currently a Ph.D. student
at Indian Institute of Technology Indore, where he is work-
ing on the development of smart composites and joining of
shape memory alloys. His research interest includes Smart
Structures and Materials Science.
 A. K et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 254 (2017) 28–35
Ashish Shukla obtained his Master’s degree from Delhi
Technological University. He is currently a Ph.D. student
at Indian Institute of Technology Indore, where he is work-
ing on underwater laser etching on flexible substrates. His
areas of specialization include material characterization
and laser based surface texturing for Photovoltaic devices.
Karthick S had completed his Masters in Control and
Instrumentation Engineering at College of Engineer-
ing – Guindy, Anna University Chennai. Previously he
was working with NIT Tiruchirappalli and Kurukshetra.
Presently he is working for his research at Indian Institute
of Technology Indore. His areas of interest are Instrument
System Design, Modelling and Analysis, Process Control
and Automation, Control and Computing.
35
Tameshwer Nath did his Masters in Manufacturing Sys-
tems Engineering at SLIET, Longowal, Punjab. He is
pursuing his Ph.D from Indian Institute of Technology
Indore. His research interest includes Bond Graph Mod-
eling, Control Systems, and Mechatronics.
Dr. I.A. Palani is working as Associate Professor in the
Discipline of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Indore and also
the Head of Metallurgy Engineering and Material Science.
He did his Post-Doctoral Fellow in Graduate school of
Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu
University, Japan. He completed his PhD from Depart-
ment of Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras, India.
He has authored in book chapters on “ZnO Nanocrys-
tals and allied Materials”. His area of interest includes
laser assisted micro processing, surface engineering, opto-
mechatronics, smart materials and nano structures for
functional device.