Experimental investigation of the cyclic degradation of the one-way shape memory effect of NiTi alloys

Based on stress-and strain-controlled cyclic tension-unloading-heat-cooling tests,cyclic degradation of the one-way shape memory effect(OWSME)of NiTi shape memory alloys(SMAs)was investigated.It was seen,in thermo-mechanical coupled cyclic tests,that residual strain after each cycle accumulated,but the martensite reorientation stress and dissipation energy-per-cycle decreased as the number of cycles increased.Meanwhile,the cyclic degradation of OWSME was aggravated by increasing the stress/strain amplitude.In addition,the stress-strain response of NiTi SMAs was further investigated by performing simultaneous thermo-mechanical coupled cyclic tests with various phase-angle differences between the mechanical and thermal cyclic loadings.It can be concluded that such cyclic response depends significantly on prescribed phase-angle differences.Obtained experimental results are helpful for both the development of constitutive models and engineering applications of NiTi SMAs.

A Multi-mechanism Model Describing Reorientation and Reorientation-Induced Plasticity of NiTi Shape Memory Alloy

The recovery force or recovery strain is an important indicator of NiTi-based shape memory alloy devices. However, the restoring force or recoverable strain is partially restrained due to an interaction between reorientation and reorientation-induced plasticity. Therefore, a macroscopic multi-mechanism constitutive model was constructed to describe the degeneration of shape memory effect based on the phase diagram. The residual strain after cooling consists of reorientation strain and reorientation-induced plastic strain. An internal variable, i.e., the detwinned stress, and its evolution equation were introduced into the transformation kinetics equation to describe the nonlinear hardening characteristics induced by the combined reorien- ration and detwinning mechanisms during mechanical loading. Finally, the proposed model was numerically implemented to simulate the experiments of shape memory effect at different peak strains. Comparisons between the experimental and simulated results show that the proposed model can reasonably describe the degeneration of shape memory effect.

Thermo-Mechanically Coupled Thermo-Elasto-Visco-Plastic Modeling of Thermo-Induced Shape Memory Polyurethane at Finite Deformation

A series of monotonic tensile experiments of thermo-induced shape memory polyurethane （TSMPU） at different loading rates were carried out to investigate the interaction between the internal heat production and the mechanical deformation. It is shown that the tem- perature variation on the surfaces of the specimens due to the internal heat production affects the mechanical properties of TSMPU remarkably. Then, based on irreversible thermodynamics, the Helmholtz free energy was decomposed into three parts, i.e., the instantaneous elastic free energy, visco-plastic free energy and heat free energy. The total deformation gradient was decomposed into the mechanical and thermal parts, and the mechanical deformation gradient was further divided into the elastic and visco-plastic components. The Hencky＇s logarithmic strain was used in the current configuration. The heat equilibrium equation of internal heat production and heat exchange was derived in accordance with the first and second thermodynamics laws. The temperature of specimens was contributed by the internal heat production and the ambient temperature simultaneously, and a thermo-mechanically coupled thermo-elasto-visco-plastie model was established. The effect of temperature variation of specimens on the mechanical properties of the material was considered in this work. Finally, the capability of the proposed model was validated by comparing the simulated results with the corresponding experimental data of TSMPU.

Ratcheting Behavior of SA508-3 Steel at Elevated Temperature:Experimental Observation and Simulation

A series of monotonic uniaxial tensile tests, strain-controlled and stress-controlled cyclic tests of SA508-3 steel were conducted from 25 to 350℃. Results showed that the steel exhibited temperature-dependent cyclic softening characteristic and obvious ratcheting behavior, and dynamic strain aging was observed in the range of 250-350℃. Based on experimental observations, a temperature-dependent cyclic plastic constitutive model was proposed by introducing the nonlinear cyclic softening and kinematic hardening rules, and the dynamic strain aging was also considered into the constitutive model. Comparisons between experiments and simulations were carded out to validate the proposed model at elevated temperature.