Thermomechanical fatigue of shape memory alloys

As shape memory alloys (SMAs) gain popularity as high energy density actuators, one characteristic that becomes particularly important is the thermomechanical transformation fatigue life, in addition to maximum transformation strain and stability of actuation cycles. In this paper, a novel test frame design and testing protocol are discussed, for investigating the thermally activated transformation fatigue characteristics of SMAs under various applied loads for both complete and partial phase transformation. A Ni50Ti40Cu10 (at.%) SMA was chosen for this investigation and the effects of various heat treatments on the transformation temperatures and the transformation fatigue lives of actuators were studied. For selected heat treatments, the evolution of recoverable and irrecoverable strains up to failure under different applied stress levels was studied in detail. The influence of complete and partial transformation on the fatigue life is also presented. The irrecoverable strain accumulation as a function of the number of cycles to failure for different stress levels is presented by a relationship similar to the Manson-Coffin law for both partial and complete transformations.