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BSc in Electromechanical Engineering AASTU

Chapter 3 Note

Shape Memory Alloy

December 2022
 Smart Materials and Applications
Shape Memory Alloy
Shape memory alloys(SMA)are intermetallics
that have two or sometimes several
crystallographic phase for which reversible
transformations from one to other occurs
trough diffusionless transformation. During
the transformation, an atom collectively
moves along subatomic distance so that the
atom liaisons remain unchanged although the
crystal lattice is distorted.
Shape memory effect refers to the ability of
the material initially deformed in its low-
temperature phase called martensite, to
recover its original shape upon heating to its
high temperature phase called austenite or
parent phase. The SME is a macroscopic
effect of thermally induced crystallographic
phase change.
Let us consider SMA material initially in its
parent phase. On cooling, the material
transforms to the martensitic phase. From a
crystallographic point of view, this phase is
characterized by a lower symmetry than the
parent phase and therefore has different
possible crystal crystallographic orientation
(commonly called as Variants). Multiple
martensitic variants with different
crystallographic orientation nucleate so that
the deformation strain energy is minimized.
These particular variants are called self-
accommodating and form twin pairs. From a
macroscopic point of view, at this stage there
is no change of shape as the volume globally
remains the same although the
crystallographic structure of the material has
changed. If a stress is applied to the material,
variants have a favorable orientation related
to the stress grow at the expense of less
favorable oriented ones. This effect is called
detwinning as the self-accommodating
variant is disappear. Once the stress is
released, as the newly formed martensite
variants are thermodynamically stable, the
material retains the applied deformation (εo).
Upon heating above martensitic phase
transformation temperature, the parent
phase, which have higher symmetry from a
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crystallography point of view, nucleates and
progressively replace the martensite, causing
the disappearance of the apparent
deformation (εo). This ability to recover its
original shape (the shape corresponding to
parent phase) is called Shape Memory Alloy.
Cooling again with no applied stress self-
accommodating variant will form and no
macroscopic shape change will be observed.
From macroscopic shape change point of
view, the SME is therefore no intrinsically
reversible. A change of shape only observed if
non self-accommodating variants have
nucleated
As mentioned above the variants of
martensite in a shape memory material
arrange themselves in such a microstructure
that there is no macroscopic change in shape
during the transformation from austenite to
the martensite. Therefore, through there is a
deformation at microstructural scale due to
the transformation, the variants
accommodating each other’s strain so that
there is no change in shape at the
macroscopic level. This is known as self-
accommodation.
A self-accommodation microstructure is a
coherent arrangement of martensitic variants
occupying a region whose boundary suffers
no displacement with respect to the
austenite. Thus, it is possible to embed a self-
accommodating microstructure in a sea of
austenite in a coherent manner without
introducing a macroscopic stresses.
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The above diagram shows that how different

variants of a given martensitic phase form so
as to minimize macroscopic shear strains in a
given region.

During shear strain mechanisms for

accommodating shape and /or volume
changes are
- Slip
- Twining (thermally reversible strain)
Some features of twins:
• Low energy
• High mobility During cooling, cubic austenite transforming
• No break of chemical bonds to monoclinic martensite begins at MS and
completes at Mf. Upon heating, martensite
transforming to austenite begins at AS and
completed at Af temperatures. Forward
transformation releases heat and results in
an exothermic peak, while reverse
transformation absorbs heat and leads to an
endothermic peak.

Martensite is a soft phase and austenite is a

hard phase. Where in martensitic state, the
SMA containing lattice twins, this can be
easily deformed through variant
reorientation/detwinning process. When
martensite is deformed, a residual strain will
remain until heated to AS temperature where
Slipping Twinning the residual strain can be recovered through
a reverse transformation. However, when the
The temperature at which the transformation SMA is deformed in its austenitic state,
occurs can be chosen in a temperature range superelasticity will be obtained due to
between -150oC and 200oC. The temperature thermodynamic equilibrium of austenite
induced transformation is characterized by phase at the testing temperature.
four temperature, MS and Mf during cooling
and AS and Af during heating. MS and Mf
indicate the temperature at which the
transformation from the parent phase into
martensite respectively starts and finishes. AS
and Af indicates respectively the temperature
at which the reverse transformation starts
and finishes. The overall transformation
describes a hysteresis of the order of 10 -
50oC

The following figure shows phase

transformation in a NiTi SMA as seen by
Differential Scanning Calorimeter.
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Detwinning process
When martensitic SMA deform under
tension, initially yield at a relatively low
stress and followed by a stress-plateau
extending to about 8% strain, starting from
the end of the stress-plateau, the deformation
behavior of SMAs becomes similar to that of
traditional structural materials. The stress-
plateau is as result of detwinning/variant
reorientation process where dislocation
generation is insignificant.
Thermally formed martensite in SMAs
consists of 100% of lattice twins. Under
tension, the lattice twins are detwinned
leading to macroscopic deformation up to 8%
strain. Further deformation is realized
through dislocation generations.
For polycrystalline SMAs, the stress-strain
curves are different between tension and
compression. Under compression, the SMA is
quickly strain hardened and no flat stress
plateau is observed. Specimen deformed
under compression load consists of a high
density of dislocations and no significant
detwinning of martensite twins has been
found.
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The temperature induced-transformation is
the base of the one and two way shape
memory effect, of the generation of recovery
Stresses, and work production. The stress-
induced transformation is the base of the
superplastic effect. When the material is
martensite, it is said to be in its cold shape,
when the material is in the beta phase, it is
said to be in its shape. The initial shape that
the material obtains after processing is
always the hot shape. This means that after
cooling into martensite the defined cold
shape is equal to the initial hot shape. This
shape can now be further deformed to the
final cold shape to induce the specific
properties.
i. One way shape memory alloy
In the martensitic state, the shape memory
element can be easily deformed from hot
shape after cooling to almost any cold shape.
The only restriction is that the deformation
may not exceed a certain strain limit (up to
8%) and should covered by solely by the
reorientation of the martensite variants,
which lead to a remnant deformation without
inducing plasticity. This apparent plastic
deformation can be recovered completely
during heating, resulting in the original hot
shape. This effect is called the one way shape
memory effect, since only hot shape is
memorized. In one way SMA it can be bent
and deformed in cold temperature and holds
its shape until heated. Once heated, it returns
to its original state. Lowering the
temperature again does not have any effect
on its shape.
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ii. Two way shape memory alloy
It refers to the memorization of two shapes. A
cold shape is spontaneously obtained during
cooling. Different form the one way SME, no
external forces are required for obtaining the
memorized cold shape. During subsequent
hating the original shape is restored. The two
way memory effect is only obtained after
specific thermo-mechanical treatment, called
training. In two-way memory effect, the alloy
remembers two shapes. This means when the
alloy is cold, it returns to one shape and
when heated it goes to another shape. This
interesting character of SMA emulates the
operation of muscles and can be
implemented in robots.
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SMAs have the unique ability to recover their
exact original shape even after large
macroscopic displacements. Typical elastic-
plastic material begin permanently deform at
strain less than 1%, while in SMAs this can be
as higher than as 8% the magic behind this
property is rooted in the martensitic phase
transformation that is driven either a change
in temperature or a change in stress.
- Thermal shape memory (commonly
called shape memory)
- Mechanical shape memory (commonly
called superelasticity)
Most widely used alloy Ni-rich NiTi (nitinol)
that has been processed with solution
treatment followed by ageing.
First start with the parent phase, called
austenite which has high symmetry and high
temperature phase. As the specimen cooled
to a characteristic temperature, the material
suddenly changes to lower symmetry phase
called martensite. This change happens
suddenly, as it is displacive (i.e. diffusionless)
in nature, with microstructural change from a
higher symmetry crystal structure (simple
cubic, B2, in NiTi) to lower symmetry one
(monoclinic, B19, NiTi) with only very small
shifts required of the atoms. As martensite
nucleates within the austenite, these two
configurations must find a way to fit together
in order to form an interface free from
macroscopic stresses and dislocation
formation if the material is to exhibit
reversibility of this phase changes. Also the
new phase must fit into the space (volume
and shape) that austenite formerly occupied.
This ability is called shape accommodation,
and can be achieved by either twinning or
slip. The ability to accomplish this by
twinning is one of the most critical
ingredients of the materials that can undergo
a reversible martensitic reaction, which give
rise to shape memory behavior.
Usually the mechanical properties of NiTi are
described by two limiting case of stress-
strain relationships, called superelasticity
and shape memory. However, to capture the
full range of mechanical performance
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possible for SMAs, stress, strain and
temperature must all be displayed together
in some fashion, either by three dimensional
plot of all these parameters, or in a serious of
stress- strain curve displayed bellow.
The above plot represents characteristics mechanical
behavior under the following temperature condition.
(a) T>Md, stable, nontransforming austenite elastically then
plastically deforms.
(b) Af<T<Mf, supperelastic austenite.
(c) Shows elastic-plastic deformation of the SMI.
(d) MS<T<AS, thermally reversible SIM, where
(e) Shows elastic-plastic deformation of the SIM and
(f) T<Mf, where martensite with mobile twin boundaries are
present. Here the stress plateau occurs upon martensite
detwinning.
(g) Shows the mechanical response once that mechanism in
exhausted, and
(h) T<<Mf, where martensite with immobile boundaries
exists.
In the above figure (a-h) the temperature
decreases from a – h. The plot at higher
temperature ‘a’ shows the response typical of
an elastic-plastic material; in this case, it is
stable, nontransforming austenite. Because
higher temperature destabilizes the
martensite, it is possible to increase
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temperature to a point where stress-inducing
martensite no longer possible; this
temperature is called the martensite
deformation temperature (Md). It represents
a point at which the critical stress for forming
martensite is greater than that required to
move a dislocation. Therefore figure shows
the expected behavior at temperature above
Md.
Below Md, it becomes possible to stress
induced martensite. This effect is shown in
the figure b-e, where upon reaching the
elastic limit of the austenite, a constant stress
plateau take place before elastic plastic
deformation of martensite occurs. In this
constant stress region, stress induced
martensite (SIM) is created and this new
phase forms in the detwined state. Since the
loading direction biases the martensite
formation toward in one variant. It is
increasingly easier to stress induce
martensite as temperature is lowered, since
less mechanical driving force for
transformation is required upon approaching
the region where martensite become
thermally stable (starting at MS, become fully
stable at Mf)
Stress-strain curves of SMAs, showing a decrease a
stress plateau as the MS temperature is approached.
Martensite becomes thermally stable at that
temperature, requiring less mechanical input to drive
the transformation.
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The limiting case of superelasticity which

occurs in the temperature range of Af < T < Md
If the SIM is formed below Af, not all the
strain is recovered upon unloading, leaving
what is commonly called permanent set.
However, heating above Af, supplies thermal
driving force to recover some type of
permanent set. Permanent set refers to as
residual strain that can be made up of
thermally recoverable strain, plastic strain or
combination of both.
The relation between the stress at which
martensite is induced and the temperature is
given by the clausius-clapeyron equation.

Where ΔH martensite to austenite

transmission
ΔVdef – deformation volume
Tf – transition temperature Ms or As
temperature

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