Effects of aging on the stress-induced martensitic transformation and cyclic superelastic properties in Co-Ni-Ga shape memory alloy single crystals under compression

Co-Ni-Ga shape memory alloys attracted scientific attention as promising candidate materials for damping applications at elevated temperatures, owing to excellent superelastic properties featuring a fully reversible stress-strain response up to temperatures as high as 500 °C. In the present work, the effect of aging treatments conducted in a wide range of aging temperatures and times, i.e. at 300–400 °C for 0.25–8.5 h, was investigated. It is shown that critical features of the martensitic transformation are strongly affected by the heat treatments. In particular, the formation of densely dispersed γ’-nanoparticles has a strong influence on the martensite variant selection and the morphology of martensite during stress-induced martensitic transformation. Relatively large, elongated particles promote irreversibility. In contrast, small spheroidal particles are associated with excellent functional stability during cyclic compression loading of 〈001〉-oriented single crystals. In addition to mechanical experiments, a detailed microstructural analysis was performed using in situ optical microscopy and neutron diffraction. Fundamental differences in microstructural evolution between various material states are documented and the relations between thermal treatment, microstructure and functional properties are explored and rationalized

On the impact of nanometric γ’ precipitates on the tensile deformation of superelastic Co49Ni21Ga30

Results are presented reporting on the martensite domain variant selection and stress-induced martensite morphology in [001]-oriented superelastic Co49Ni21Ga30 shape memory alloy (SMA) single crystals under tensile load. In situ neutron diffraction, as well as in situ optical- and confocal laser scanning microscopy were conducted focusing on three differently treated samples, i.e. in the as-grown, solution-annealed and aged condition. An aging treatment performed at 350 °C promotes the precipitation of nanoprecipitates. These second phase precipitates contribute to an increase of the number of habit plane interfaces, while reducing lamellar martensite plate thickness compared to the as-grown and solution-annealed (precipitate free) samples. During tensile loading, all samples show a stress-induced formation of martensite, characterized by one single domain variant (“detwinned”) and one set of parallel habit planes in a shear band. The results clearly show that γ’ nanoprecipitates do not necessarily promote multi-variant interaction during tensile loading. Thus, reduced recoverability in Co-Ni-Ga SMAs upon aging cannot be solely attributed to this kind of interaction as has been proposed in literature so far

Mikrostrukturelle Untersuchungen zur Phasenstabilität und zum Oxidationsverhalten im System Ti-Ta

Das System Ti-Ta gilt aufgrund von Phasenumwandlungstemperaturen weit über 100°C als vielversprechender Kandidat für die Anwendung als Hochtemperatur-Formgedächtnislegierung (HT FGL). Bei den angestrebten erhöhten Temperaturen können verschiedene elementare Prozesse wie Ausscheidung oder Oxidation die martensitische Phasenumwandlung beeinflussen. Der Fokus der vorliegenden Arbeit liegt auf einer Untersuchung der Phasenstabilität und des Oxidationsverhaltens von binären Ti-Ta Legierungen. Hierfür wurden fortgeschrittene Methoden der zur mikrostrukturellen Untersuchung wie die Synchrotronstrahlung, Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie und die Atomsondentomographie angewendet. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Arbeit offenbaren den Einfluss von Ausscheidungs- und Oxidationsprozessen auf die funktionelle Degradation der Ti-Ta HT-FGL. Gleichzeitig eröffnet die Charakterisierung des Auflösungsprozesses der $\omega$-Phase einen Weg zur Verlängerung der Lebensdauer

Effect of Temperature and Texture on Hall–Petch Strengthening by Grain and Annealing Twin Boundaries in the MnFeNi Medium-Entropy Alloy

Among equiatomic alloys of the Cr-Mn-Fe-Co-Ni system, MnFeNi was shown to exhibit a strong anti-invar behavior but little is known regarding its mechanical properties. The objective of the present study is to investigate Hall–Petch strengthening by grain and annealing twin boundaries in MnFeNi. For this purpose, seven different grain sizes between 17 and 216 µm were produced. Mean grain sizes (excluding annealing twin boundaries) and crystallite sizes (including them) were determined using the linear intercept method. Overall, 25% of the boundaries were found to be annealing twin boundaries regardless of the grain size. In some cases, two twin boundaries can be present in one grain forming an annealing twin, which thickness represents one quarter of the mean grain size. Based on a comparison of the mean twin thickness of different alloys with different stacking fault energy (SFE), we estimated an SFE of 80 ± 20 mJ/m2 for MnFeNi. Compression tests of MnFeNi with different grain sizes were performed between 77 and 873 K and revealed a parallel shift of the Hall–Petch lines with temperature. The interaction between dislocations and boundaries was investigated by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) in a deformed specimen. It was found that a large number of dislocations are piling up against grain boundaries while the pile-ups at annealing twin boundaries contain much fewer dislocations. This indicates that annealing twin boundaries in this alloy are less effective obstacles to dislocation motion than grain boundaries

Impact of test temperature on functional degradation in Fe-Ni-Co-Al-Ta shape memory alloy single crystals

The present paper focuses on the analysis of functional fatigue properties in -oriented single crystalline Fe-Ni-Co-Al-Ta shape memory alloys. Superelastic cycling experiments up to 4.5% at different temperatures were conducted and revealed excellent cyclic stability at lower testing temperatures. Transmission electron microscopy observations shed light on the influence of precipitation and dislocation activity on functional stability

Effect of temperature and texture on Hall-Petch strengthening by grain and annealing twin boundaries in the MnFeNi medium-entropy alloy

Among equiatomic alloys of the Cr-Mn-Fe-Co-Ni system, MnFeNi was shown to exhibit a strong anti-invar behavior but little is known regarding its mechanical properties. The objective of the present study is to investigate Hall-Petch strengthening by grain and annealing twin boundaries in MnFeNi. For this purpose, seven different grain sizes between 17 and 216 $\mu$m were produced. Mean grain sizes (excluding annealing twin boundaries) and crystallite sizes (including them) were determined using the linear intercept method. Overall, 25% of the boundaries were found to be annealing twin boundaries regardless of the grain size. In some cases, two twin boundaries can be present in one grain forming an annealing twin, which thickness represents one quarter of the mean grain size. Based on a comparison of the mean twin thickness of different alloys with different stacking fault energy (SFE), we estimated an SFE of 80 $\pm$ 20 mJ/$m^{2}$ for MnFeNi. Compression tests of MnFeNi with different grain sizes were performed between 77 and 873 K and revealed a parallel shift of the Hall-Petch lines with temperature. The interaction between dislocations and boundaries was investigated by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) in a deformed specimen. It was found that a large number of dislocations are piling up against grain boundaries while the pile-ups at annealing twin boundaries contain much fewer dislocations. This indicates that annealing twin boundaries in this alloy are less effective obstacles to dislocation motion than grain boundaries

Microstructural evolution and functional fatigue of a Ti–25Ta high-temperature shape memory alloy

Titanium–tantalum based alloys can demonstrate a martensitic transformation well above 100 °C, which makes them attractive for shape memory applications at elevated temperatures. In addition, they provide for good workability and contain only reasonably priced constituents. The current study presents results from functional fatigue experiments on a binary Ti–25Ta high-temperature shape memory alloy. This material shows a martensitic transformation at about 350 °C along with a transformation strain of 2 pct at a bias stress of 100 MPa. The success of most of the envisaged applications will, however, hinge on the microstructural stability under thermomechanical loading. Thus, light and electron optical microscopy as well X-ray diffraction were used to uncover the mechanisms that dominate functional degradation in different temperature regimes. It is demonstrated the maximum test temperature is the key parameter that governs functional degradation in the thermomechanical fatigue tests. Specifically, ω-phase formation and local decomposition in Ti-rich and Ta-rich areas dominate when T max does not exceed ≈430 °C. As T max is increased, the detrimental phases start to dissolve and functional fatigue can be suppressed. However, when T max reaches ≈620 °C, structural fatigue sets in, and fatigue life is again deteriorated by oxygen-induced crack formation. Copyright © Materials Research Society 201