Low Cycle Fatigue Evaluation of NiTi SESMA Thin Wires

Abstract

This paper presents experimental studies on low cycle fatigue (LCF) life of super-elastic shape memory alloy (SESMA) wires. The effect of frequency of the loading and amplitude of the strain on the fatigue life has been studied individually. Various loading frequencies have been considered to study the effect of frequency, by keeping the amplitude constant. From the experimental data, it was found that the LCF life of the SESMA reduces with increase in the frequency. The effect of amplitude on the LCF life of SESMA has also been studied, and it was found that the SESMA cycled at lower net strain has more fatigue life than the one cycled at higher net strain. Further, the plastic strain accumulation is also more in the samples tested at the higher net strain loadings. The modulus of austenite is found to be by and large independent of the frequency and amplitude of the loading. Further, martensitic unloading modulus is same for all the minimum strain amplitudes