Wear 221 Ž1998.

116–123

A new type of wear-resistant material: pseudo-elastic TiNi alloy

)
D.Y. Li
Dept. of Chemical and Materials Engineering UniÕersity of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G6
Received 17 March 1998; accepted 17 July 1998

Abstract

A number of investigations have demonstrated that TiNi alloy exhibits high resistance to wear. As a new type of wear-resistant
material, TiNi alloy has attracted increasing interest. Different from conventional wear materials, the high wear resistance of TiNi alloy is
mainly attributable to its unique mechanical behaviour, the so called pseudo-elasticity, resulting from a reversible martensitic
transformation. In this article, the wear behaviour and relevant properties of TiNi alloy are briefly introduced, including wear resistance,
reversible martensitic transformation, pseudo-elasticity, and microstructural effects. Future exploration of the pseudo-elastic alloy as a
wear-resistant material is discussed. q 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Keywords: TiNi alloy; Wear; Pseudo-elasticity; Martensitic transformation

1. Introduction Hardness is of importance to the resistance to abrasive

TiNi is a typical shape memory alloy with special
deformation behaviour caused by a reversible martensitic
phase transformation w1–5x. In addition to its shape mem-
ory effect, recent studies demonstrate that TiNi alloy has a
high resistance to wear w6–17x and could be an excellent
candidate for various tribological applications. A number
of researchers investigated the wear behaviour of TiNi
alloys in different wear modes and compared TiNi alloys
with conventional engineering materials such as steels,
Ni-based and Co-based tribo-alloys w7,10–12,14,17x. It is
found that TiNi alloy has a better performance than these
conventional wear-resistant materials, especially during
cavitation wear processes. In addition, TiNi alloy is resis-
tant to corrosive wear w16x and this makes TiNi alloy
particularly attractive to material engineers who are seek-
ing tribo-materials that are suitable for application in ag-
gressive environments.
The wear resistance of conventional tribo-materials
strongly depends on their mechanical properties such as
hardness, toughness, and work-hardening w18,19x. Each of
the mechanical properties contributes in greater or lesser
degree to the wear resistance in different wear modes.
wear, while toughness and work-hardening are responsible
for the resistance to wear under impact or high stresses.
However, it appears that these mechanical properties are
not the main factors that are responsible for high wear
resistance of TiNi alloy. It is suggested that high wear
resistance of TiNi alloy could be attributable to its
pseudo-elasticity w7,8,11,13,14x, which results from stress-
induced reversible martensitic transformation as well as
the rearrangement of martensitic phase variants under stress
w20–27x. This unique deformation behaviour of TiNi alloy
may greatly contribute to its wear resistance, although its
rapid work-hardening and good fatigue resistance may also
be beneficial.
In this article, the wear behaviour of TiNi alloy is
briefly introduced and compared to some conventional
wear-resistant materials. The peculiar mechanical be-
haviour of TiNi alloy, the pseudo-elasticity, and the mech-
anism responsible for high wear resistance of TiNi alloy
are discussed. Based on the current understanding, further
exploration of TiNi alloy as a new type of wear-resistant
material and other pseudo-elastic alloys is discussed.

2. The wear behaviour of TiNi alloys

)
Corresponding author. Fax: q 1-403-492-2881; E-mail: In many cases TiNi alloy is more resistant to wear
dongyang.li@ualberta.ca damage than conventional engineering materials such as

0043-1648r98r$ - see front matter q 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 4 3 - 1 6 4 8 Ž 9 8 . 0 0 2 6 9 - 5
 D.Y. Li r Wear 221 (1998) 116–123
steels, Ni-based and Co-based alloys. This has been
demonstrated by a number of investigations on the perfor-
mance of TiNi alloy in different wear modes w6–17x.
Richman et al. w11x demonstrated the superior cavitation
resistance of TiNi alloy and compared it to a number of
standard and wear-resistant materials commonly used in
hydraulic machinery, including cast martensitic ŽCA6NM.,
austenitic Ž304L. and duplex ŽFER-255. stainless steels,
and Co-based alloys such as Stellite 6 ŽST-6., Stellite 21
ŽST-21., and IRECA Ža Co-containing stainless steel..
Their experimental results are presented in Fig. 1, which
illustrates mass losses of these materials relative to 304L
stainless steel. The mass loss of a TiNi clad low-carbon
steel is also shown in this figure for comparison. Demon-
strably the TiNi clad steel has a higher erosion resistance
than other materials. Jin and Wang w7x showed that during
a dry sliding wear test TiNi alloy was more resistant than
commercial wear-resistant alloys such as nitrogenized
38CrMoAlA and Co45 alloys, especially under high loads
Žsee Fig. 2.. They explained the wear resistance of TiNi
alloy based on the ratio of plastic contact area to the total
contact area, A prA, and suggested that high wear resis-
tance of TiNi alloy could be greatly attributed to its low
A prA ratio due to the pseudo-elasticity. As a matter of
fact, the beneficial effect of pseudo-elasticity on wear of
TiNi alloy has been supported by experiments. For in-
stance, Shida and Sugimoto observed remarkable erosion
resistance of TiNi alloys during a water-jet erosion test w8x.
They tested the erosion behaviour of TiNi alloys with
different compositions and found that the erosion resis-
tance of TiNi alloy is strongly dependent on its chemical
composition and microstructure. The optimal composition
is in the range from Ti-55wt.%Ni to Ti-56.5wt.%Ni, where
the erosion rate decreases sharply. Since in this composi-
tion range TiNi alloy behaves pseudo-elastically due to the
thermoelastic martensitic phase transformation, it appears
that the high erosion resistance is closely related to the
pseudo-elasticity. Liang et al. w14x observed that TiNi alloy
showed high resistance to wear under impact during a
sand-blasting test. They compared the TiNi alloy to a
Ni-hard-4 wear-resistant alloy ŽCr8.6 Ni 5.2 C 3.2 Fe., and
showed that TiNi alloy has a lower erosion rate than the
Fig. 1. Relative cavitation-erosion rates of different materials Žadapted
from Richman et al. w11x..
117
Fig. 2. Dry abrasion losses of TiNi, Co45, and nitrogenized 38CrMoAlA
alloys Žadapted from Jin and Wang w7x.. Sliding distances 704 m and
rotation rates 200 rpm.
Ni-hard-4 alloy especially at the impingement angle of 908.
In particular, they noticed that there was a strong corre-
spondence between the wear resistance and the recoverable
strain that results from the pseudo-elasticity or pseudo-
plasticity. The higher the recoverable strain, the better the
resistance to wear. By changing heat treating, they pre-
pared TiNi specimens respectively with pseudo-elasticity
and with little pseudo-elasticity, and observed that the
specimens with pseudo-elasticity had higher wear resis-
tance than those with little pseudo-elasticity. In addition to
the pseudo-elasticity, it is noticed that the excellent wear
behaviour of TiNi alloy also benefits by its other mechani-
cal properties. Clayton w10x investigated wear and rolling
fatigue of a TiNi alloy whose composition is beyond the
range where the martensitic transformation can be induced
by stress. He found that the TiNi alloy, in contrast to
pearlitic steel, exhibited a high resistance to wear under
severe contact conditions and also manifested excellent
resistance to rolling fatigue.
Another attractive property of TiNi alloy is its good
corrosion resistance. It is known that the synergistic attack
that corrosion and wear make on conventional corrosion-
resistant materials such as stainless steels renders them as
ineffective as ordinary carbon steel. For TiNi alloy, how-
ever, the combination of its wear resistance and corrosion
resistance may make this alloy superior to conventional
tribo-materials for application in corrosion–wear environ-
ments. According to Ref. w7x, water-flow valves made of
Ti-51.8at.%Ni alloy used in power station have demon-
strated their service lives at least four times longer than
those made of 1Cr13 and nitrogenized 38CrMoAlA tribo-
alloys. Thus, TiNi alloy can be a very attractive wear-re-
sistant material, since the resistance to corrosion–wear is
here one of the most important parameters for materials
selection.
The wear resistance of TiNi alloy is strongly influenced
by its microstructure w13x. At ambient temperature,
equiatomic TiNi alloy is in the b phase of an ordered bcc
structure ŽB2.. When the Ni content is more than 50.6
at.%, the wear resistance can be enhanced by aging the
118 D.Y. Li r Wear 221 (1998) 116–123

specimen, a process introducing fine and coherent Ti 11 Ni 14
precipitates. However, over-aging may diminish the wear
resistance. Figs. 3 and 4 respectively illustrate microstruc-
tures of Ti-51.5at.%Ni Žaged. and Ti-50.3at.%Ni alloys
and corresponding mass losses during sliding wear. In the
aged Ti-51.5at.%Ni alloy, Ni-rich Ti 11 Ni 14 precipitates
were produced and the Ni content in the matrix decreased
towards that of the Ti-50.3at.%Ni alloy. Therefore, the
difference in wear resistance could be largely caused by
the Ti 11 Ni 14 precipitates. From Figs. 3 and 4, one may see
that the 1.5 h-aged Ti-51.5at.%Ni containing fine and
coherent Ti 11 Ni 14 precipitates has a higher resistance to
wear. These coherent precipitates may have two effects:
Ž1. increasing the hardness of the material, which is bene-
ficial for the wear resistance; and Ž2. suppressing the
plastic deformation so that the pseudo-elasticity plays a
major role in accommodating large-scale deformation, thus
enhancing the resistance to wear. However, when the
Ti-51.5at.%Ni alloy is over-aged Žfor 24.5 h., Ti 11 Ni 14
precipitates are overgrown and the corresponding wear
resistance deteriorates. This happens because the pro-
longed aging breaks the coherency of the interface be-
tween the Ti 11 Ni 14 precipitates and the TiNi matrix, with
dislocations developing around the overgrown Ti 11 Ni 14
precipitates as Fig. 3c illustrates. This over-aging produces
incoherence between the precipitates and the matrix, which
decreases the strengthening function of the precipitates.
The interfacial incoherence is detrimental to wear resis-
tance, since in this case the matrix may withstand the
contact stress alone and cracking becomes easier because
of the stress concentration near the edge of the lens-like
incoherent precipitate. In addition, the incoherent precipi-

Fig. 3. Ža. Ti-50.3at.%Ni alloy exhibits a B2 structure; Žb. fine and coherent Ti 11 Ni 14 precipitates formed in a 1.5 h-aged Ti-51.5at.%Ni alloy; Žc. the
overgrown Ti 11 Ni 14 precipitates in a 24.5 h-aged Ti-51.5at.%Ni alloy Žthe corresponding diffraction pattern is similar to that shown in Fig. 3Žb...
 D.Y. Li r Wear 221 (1998) 116–123
Fig. 4. Mass losses of TiNi alloys with microstructures corresponding to
those illustrated in Fig. 3a–c.
tates are easier removed from the surface during the wear
process, resulting in greater material loss.
Alloying elements in TiNi alloy may improve its wear
resistance, because the additional elements may modify
microstructure, influence the phase transformation be-
haviour, or may change the wear mechanism. For instance,
Singh and Alpas w12x examined the surface microstructure
of a Ti 50 Ni 47 Fe 3 alloy after a dry sliding test and demon-
strated the formation of iron oxide layer at the worn
surface. The oxide layer decreases the wear damage by
acting as a solid lubricant and also by reducing the metal–
metal contact area. Their experiment shows that the wear
rate of the Ti 50 Ni 47 Fe 3 alloy is only 2 ; 5% of the wear
rate of a bearing steel ŽSAE 52100., although the latter is
much harder and is supposed to be more wear-resistant
according to conventional tribological theory.
Hardness is apparently not the main factor responsible
for high wear resistance of TiNi alloy. Wear-resistant
materials usually have high hardness, although there is an
exception for wear in erosion mode. In general, hard
materials are more resistant to wear than soft materials
during wear processes w18x. However, the hardness is not
critical to the wear resistance of TiNi alloy, since the
hardness of TiNi alloy is relatively low compared to many
conventional wear-resistant materials. Due to the stress-in-
duced martensitic phase transformation, the hardness of
TiNi alloy is in the range from 200 HV to 500 HV,
depending on the composition and heat treatment that
control the martensitic transformation temperature. This
hardness range is about two or three times lower than
those of conventional tribo-materials whose wear resis-
tance is, however, inferior to the TiNi wear resistance. Jin
and Wang w7x demonstrated that TiNi alloy has a lower
hardness than those the Co45 and 38CrMoAlA tribo-alloys
have, but the former has a higher resistance to wear
especially under high stresses. Singh and Alpas w12x com-
pared Ti 50 Ni 47 Fe 3 alloy to the SAE 52100 steel and found
119
that the former had a much lower sliding wear rate, while
the latter was three times harder than the former.
3. The pseudo-elasticity
It is suggested that high wear resistance of TiNi alloy is
mainly attributed to its unique deformation property: the
so-called pseudo-elasticity w7,8,11,13,14x. Conventional
engineering materials, under an external load, usually ex-
perience elastic deformation and then plastic deformation
until failure. The elastic deformation is recoverable,
whereas the plastic deformation is not. TiNi alloy, how-
ever, exhibits unusual deformation behaviour. Fig. 5 illus-
trates a typical stress–strain curve of TiNi alloy. One may
see that the alloy experiences first an elastic deformation
and then a ‘plastic’ deformation. However, when the stress
is removed, not only the elastic deformation but also the
‘plastic’ deformation vanishes. This deformation behaviour
is called pseudo-elasticity, which results from a reversible
martensitic transformation as well as the rearrangement of
martensitic phase variants under stress. Equiatomic TiNi
alloy has an ordered bcc structure Žb phase. at ambient
temperature w28,29x. As the temperature decreases, the b
phase transforms to a martensitic phase ŽM., which has a
monoclinic crystal structure w30x. This phase transforma-
tion results in a deformation accompanied by a macro-
scopic shape change that, however, vanishes as the temper-
ature increases back to its initial level. The transformation
temperature depends on the alloy composition and it can
therefore be adjusted by modifying the composition. An
important feature of the martensitic transformation in TiNi
alloy is that it can be induced by stress. Under an applied
stress, the b phase can transform to the martensitic phase
and produce a deformation, which, however, vanishes
when the stress is removed. This stress-induced reversible
phase transformation is responsible for the pseudo-elastic-
ity. Fig. 6 illustrates the reversible phase transformation
under applied stress by in situ TEM observation. When a
tensile stress was applied, the b phase transformed to a
premartensitic phase ŽR phase—a rhombohedral structure.
w31x and then to a martensitic phase ŽM., associated with a
deformation. As the stress was removed, a reverse trans-
Fig. 5. A stress–strain curve of a Ti-51at.%Ni alloy at room temperature.
120 D.Y. Li r Wear 221 (1998) 116–123

Fig. 6. In situ TEM observation of stress-induced phase transformation in a Ti-50.3at.%Ni alloy. A tensile stress was applied along the direction pointed by
an arrow. Ža. b phase having a B2 structure; Žb. b ™ R transformation was induced by stress Ž ´ s 5%.; Žc. b q R ™ M induced by stress Ž ´ s 10%.; Žd.
M ™ R ™ b transformation occurred when the stress was removed.

formation, M ™ R ™ b, occurred and the initially induced
deformation vanished. There is a symmetry-breaking
change when the highly symmetrical b phase ŽB2. trans-
forms to the low symmetry monoclinic martensite phase
w32x. According to the group theory of phase transforma-
tion w33x, a symmetry-breaking phase transformation re-
sults in a number of orientation variants of the product
phase. In the absence of external stress, all these variants
may grow and form a self-accommodative arrangement to
minimize the coherent elastic strain energy. As a result,
there is only a volume change, i.e., expansion or contrac-
tion, but no anisotropic deformation. However, if a uniax-
 D.Y. Li r Wear 221 (1998) 116–123
ial stress is applied, only some of the variants with particu-
lar orientations may grow selectively and this leads to a
uniaxial macroscopic deformation. Since the stress-induced
martensitic phase transformation is reversible in TiNi al-
loy, the macroscopic deformation caused by the phase
transformation is therefore recoverable, thus leading to the
pseudo-elasticity. This recoverable deformation could be
very large. According to Ref. w34x, close to the martensitic
transformation temperature, the reversible deformation due
to the pseudo-elasticity may reach 17%. By in situ TEM,
we observed that the stress-induced martensitic transforma-
tion is associated at least with a strain equal to 10%. The
high magnitude of the recoverable deformation could make
significant contribution to high wear resistance of TiNi
alloy, as discussed below.
4. The mechanism responsible for high wear resistance
of TiNi alloy
Wear of a material is affected by a number of factors,
such as the contact and impact forces, mechanical proper-
ties of the material, temperature, and surface-moving speed,
etc.. The wear resistance of TiNi alloy appears to be
largely attributable to its pseudo-elasticity, which influ-
ences some of these factors.
In order to demonstrate the beneficial effect of pseudo-
elasticity on wear, let us consider a hard asperity sliding on
a rough TiNi surface with bumps. When the asperity
passes over a bump on the TiNi surface, the contact area
between the bump and the asperity may be significantly
increased as the contact force increases. This happens
because TiNi alloy has a relatively low hardness due to the
stress-induced martensitic transformation or the rearrange-
ment of martensitic variants. The increase in contact area
diminishes the contact stress and thus reduces the stress
concentration at the rough surface. As a result, the proba-
bility of cracking can be greatly reduced. In addition, the
pseudo-elasticity can retard the propagation of micro-
cracks. By in situ TEM, Wang et al. w35x observed that the
martensitic phase was induced in the vicinity of preexist-
ing micro-cracks in a Cu-based shape memory ally. The
stress-induced martensitic transformation diminishes the
stress concentration at the tip of the micro-cracks and thus
retards the propagation of the cracks. When an asperity
passes over a TiNi bump, little plastic deformation is
generated because of the pseudo-elasticity. The high flexi-
bility due to the reversible martensitic transformation may
allow the bump to withstand impacts from many moving
asperities before it fails when the accumulated plastic
deformation reaches its critical value at fracture. Unlike
TiNi alloy, a conventional wear-resistant material does not
have such advantages, since it does not have a high ability
to accommodate large-scale deformation without generat-
ing permanent damages. Therefore, the resulting plastic
deformation may be accumulated quickly during wear
121
process and soon reach its critical value at fracture, thus
resulting in rapid removal of the bump. This has been
recently demonstrated by Liu and Li using FEM method
w36x, who show that the pseudo-elasticity may make TiNi
alloy much tougher against wear than wear-resistant steels.
The pseudo-elasticity also makes TiNi alloy very resistant
to wear under impact force, as demonstrated by sand-blast-
ing test w14x and water-jet erosion w8,11x. The high resis-
tance of TiNi to impact is understandable, because the
impact energy can be readily absorbed by TiNi alloy due
to its rubber-like behaviour and the resulting impact dam-
age can thus be reduced significantly.
The pseudo-elasticity of TiNi alloy plays a key role in
producing a high wear resistance. This can be justified
from the performance of TiNi alloys under different wear
conditions. For instance, it is noticed that the performance
of TiNi alloys during the water-jet erosion test is better
than that during dry sliding. In the former case, the surface
temperature of a TiNi alloy keeps at the water temperature,
at which the stress-induced martensitic transformation oc-
curs and so does the pseudo-elasticity. As a result of the
existence of pseudo-elasticity, the TiNi alloy manifests
excellent resistance to cavitation erosion. While during dry
sliding, the friction increases the surface temperature and
this may make a TiNi alloy out of its temperature range for
martensitic transformation and thus diminish the pseudo-
elasticity. As a result, the TiNi alloy may perform like a
conventional engineering material, although it still has a
relatively high resistance to wear due to its good toughness
and work hardening. This is the reason why TiNi alloys
perform better during water-jet erosion than that during
dry sliding wear. Another evidence is the strong depen-
dence of the wear resistance of TiNi alloy on its composi-
tion. As Shida and Sugimoto w8x observed, there is an
optimal composition range from Ti-55wt.%Ni to Ti-
56.5wt.%Ni, corresponding to a sharp decrease in the
erosion rate. This optimal composition range is actually the
range that allows TiNi alloys to behave pseudo-elastically.
Liang et al. w14x also demonstrated the strong correspon-
dence between the wear resistance and the recoverable
strain resulting from the pseudo-elasticity or pseudo-plas-
ticity.
Another possible benefit from the reversible martensitic
phase transformation in TiNi alloy is a thermal effect. The
martensitic transformation is a process associated with heat
release and absorption as a DSC analysis demonstrates
Žsee Fig. 7.. During a sliding wear process, the b phase
transforms to the martensitic phase under the stress caused
by asperity contact and the transformation heat is released,
which may partially emit into air. After an asperity passes
over, the martensitic phase may absorb the friction heat
and this favours the reverse phase transformation, i.e.,
M ™ R ™ b. The recovered b phase can take part again
during the stress-induced b ™ R ™ M phase transforma-
tion, and this enhances the pseudo-elasticity of the material
and thus its resistance to wear.
122 D.Y. Li r Wear 221 (1998) 116–123
Fig. 7. A DSC thermogram of Ti-50.3at.%Ni alloy during cooling and
heating processes.
In fact, the excellent wear behaviour of TiNi alloy does
not only benefit from the thermoelastic martensitic trans-
formation but also from other properties. For instance,
Clayton w10x investigated wear of an austenitic TiNi alloy
without the martensitic phase transformation involved. He
demonstrated that the TiNi alloy exhibited excellent resis-
tance to fatigue wear, which may be attributable to its high
degree of cyclic hardening. Another example is given by a
drilling experiment performed by the author; it was noticed
that TiNi alloy is extremely difficult to drill through,
compared to stainless steels. This difficulty is apparently
caused by low friction between the TiNi alloy and the drill
bit. Therefore, in order to obtain a better understanding of
the excellent wear behaviour of TiNi alloy, more compre-
hensive research is necessary.
5. Further exploration
The emergence of TiNi alloy as a novel wear-resistant
material opens new doors to the development of advanced
industrial wear-resistant materials. Although the emphasis
of current research on wear behaviour of TiNi alloy is laid
mostly on fundamental aspects, exploration of the applica-
bility of TiNi alloy for industrial applications has also been
undertaken. There is a great scope for improving tribologi-
cal properties of TiNi alloy for various engineering appli-
cations. Further exploration in the following aspects could
be beneficial.
Ž1. High wear resistance of TiNi alloy largely depends
on its pseudo-elasticity, which functions in a certain tem-
perature range. It is therefore important to adjust the
martensitic transformation temperature and thus the
pseudo-elasticity for effective application of TiNi alloy in
different temperature ranges. This can be realised by con-
trolling the alloy composition, since the transformation
temperature itself is a function of the composition.
Ž2. Alloying elements that improve the wear resistance
of TiNi alloy require identification. For instance, as
demonstrated by Singh and Alpas w12x, the wear rate of
TiNi can be decreased effectively by alloying with 3%
iron, which helps to form oxide layer on surface during
wear process. This oxide layer serves as a solid lubricant.
Through alloying elements, one may modify material mi-
crostructure and other properties related to wear resistance,
such as the pseudo-elasticity, second phase development,
internal stress, and the transformation temperature.
Ž3. Microstructure strongly influences the performance
of TiNi alloy during wear processes. As demonstrated
earlier, the coherent and fine Ti 11 Ni 14 precipitates improve
the wear resistance of TiNi alloys, which could be at-
tributed to the enhancement of pseudo-elasticity as well as
the increase in strength of the material. It is therefore of
importance to investigate processing–microstructure–prop-
erty relationships, with the aim of optimizing microstruc-
ture for improved wear performance.
Ž4. TiNi alloy is relatively expensive and its machin-
ability is poor. These may limit industrial applications of
TiNi alloy as a wear-resistant material. Using TiNi alloy as
a protective coating is a promising approach to overcome
these drawbacks. Exploration of this possibility has already
begun. For instance, assessments of arc-sprayed and vac-
uum plasma sprayed TiNi coatings were made by Jardine
et al. w37,38x. They observed that the sprayed coatings
preserved the stoichiometry and properties that the bulk
TiNi alloy possessed, though the bonding between the
sprayed TiNi coatings and the substrate Že.g., steels. is not
strong enough. A good bonding, however, could be ob-
tained by using the explosive welding technique to pro-
duce TiNi coatings, as demonstrated by Zimmerly et al.
w17x.
Ž5. Search should be made for more economic or
functional pseudo-elastic wear-resistant materials applica-
ble for particular situations. It was observed that some
steels and ferrous alloys, such as the austenitic stainless
steel w39x and Fe–Be alloys w40x, behave pseudo-elasti-
cally. They could be good candidates for wear applications
after adequate modification of their martensitic transforma-
tion temperatures. Some Cu-based alloys, such as Cu–Al–
Ni w41x and Cu–Zn–Al w42x, also show excellent pseudo-
elasticity. Wang et al. w35x investigated the wear of Cu-
based shape memory alloys and demonstrated that the
wear resistance of the alloys benefits from their pseudo-
elasticity. The combination of pseudo-elasticity and con-
ductivity might make them acceptable as wear-resistant
conductive materials. Ti–V–Fe–Al alloys have excellent
corrosion resistance w43x and biocompatibility. Combined
with their thermo-elastic martensitic transformation be-
haviour w44x, the alloys could be used as wear-resistant
biomaterials. Another promising approach is to make
wear-resistant composites using pseudo-elastic alloy as the
matrix. It is expected that the combination of hard phase
and the pseudo-elastic matrix may produce superior wear-
resistant materials. However, the current research is mainly
focused on TiNi alloy, and there are few studies on wear
behaviour of the above-mentioned materials. Therefore,
although these pseudo-elastic materials have the potential
to become effective wear-resistant materials, great efforts
have to be made before the dream comes true.
 D.Y. Li r Wear 221 (1998) 116–123
6. Summary
TiNi alloy exhibits high resistance to wear, which may
result from its peculiar pseudo-elasticity. This new type of
wear-resistant material has attracted increasing interest and
may open new doors to the development of industrial
wear-resistant materials. The present article gives a brief
introduction to TiNi alloy, including its wear behaviour
and the mechanism responsible for its high wear resis-
tance. Future exploration of pseudo-elastic wear-resistant
materials is discussed.
7. Biography
D.Y. Li is an Assistant Professor at the Department of
Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Al-
berta. His research includes wear-resistant materials, mi-
crostructural engineering, phase transformation, texture,
and computational materials science.
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful for financial support from the
Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of
Canada ŽNSERC. and Syncrude Canada Ltd.
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