Superelastic response of the FeNiCoAlTi single crystals under tension and compression

The superelastic response of the Fe(43.5)Ni(28)Co(17)A(11.5)Ti(2.5) single crystalline shape memory alloy was investigated along the [1 0 0] orientation in both tension and compression. A fully recoverable superelastic loop was observed under both tension and compression within the temperature range of 80 to 0 degrees C. At higher temperatures, while up to 6% superelastic strain was attainable in tension, the superelasticity deteriorates quickly under compressive strains exceeding 2%. The asymmetric response is likely caused by different numbers of stress-activated martensite variants in tension and compression. (C) 2015 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.