Mechanical properties of Fe-Mn-Si based SMA and the application

The SME (shape memory effect) in an Fe-Mn-Si based SMA is governed by motion of Shockley partial dislocations which carry the fee <-> hcp phase transformations. The degree of SME is determined by preservation of the partial dislocations whereas the strength is determined by the internal stress opposing against the dislocation motion. The increase in the internal stress tends to induce dislocation reactions which ruin the preservation of the Shockley partials and hence to decrease the degree of SME. Nevertheless, usage of this SMA for construction of a large structural product has recently gained much attention even with sacrifice in the degree of SME. Upon application of this SMA in such a field, the optimum condition has to be searched both in the mechanical properties of the SMA itself and the type of the usage in the sense of deformation mode such as elongation, contraction, bending, twisting and so on. In this paper, the dislocation motion responsible for a good SME with high strength will be discussed on the ground of the basic knowledge of the dislocation generation, the motion and the reactions.