Experimental study of pseudoelastic NiTi alloy under cyclic loading

Abstract

The phase transformation temperatures of pseudoelastic NiTi alloy were defined by differential scanning calorimetry. The effect of the stress range on the functional properties of the NiTi alloy under uniaxial tension in ice water at a temperature of 0 0 was studied. The cylindrical specimens with 4 mm in diameter and a gage length of 12.5 mm were tested under static and cyclic loading with frequency of 0.5 Hz. All cyclic tests were performed under the crosshead displacement controlled condition on the STM100 machine. At the temperature above Af the effect of the cyclic loading on the maximum stress in general could be characterized by several stages: strengthening, softening, stabilization and rapid decrease of the maximum stress, which is caused by the initiation and macrocrack growth. With the increase of the maximal stress in the first cycle from 509 MPa to 605 MPa, the strain range also increases.