Stress-induced martensitic phase transformation in intermetallic nickel aluminum nanowires

Atomistic simulations are utilized to demonstrate a stress-induced martensitic phase transformation in intermetallic nickel aluminum (NiAl) nanowires. The martensitic phase transformation occurs by the propagation and annihilation of {101} twinning planes and transforms the initially B2 NiAl nanowires to a body-centered tetragonal (BCT) phase. The instability of the resulting BCT phase allows pseudoelastic recovery of inelastic strains on the order of 40% at all deformation temperatures.