Energy absorption in Ni-Mn-Ga-polymer composites

Abstract

Martensitic Ni-Mn-Ga single crystals are easily twinned and the twin boundaries can be displaced by applying a mechanical stress or magnetic field. Twin boundary motion is a highly dissipative process. Composites of aligned Ni-Mn-Ga particles in a polymer matrix show evidence of stress-induced twin boundary motion that results in stress-strain curves with significantly greater hysteresis than for Fe-polymer composites or polymer samples.