The Effect of Cyclic Transformation on the Shape Memory Characteristic in an Fe-Mn-Si-Cr-Ni alloy

Abstract

Evaluation of the shape memory characteristics under thermal and stress cycles is indispensable to ensure the reliability of shape memory alloys used in nuclear power reactors. Then the effect of γ↔E cyclic transformation on the shape memory characteristics was investigated in Fe-14Mn-6Si-9Cr-5Ni (wt%) alloy. ε martensites were stress-induced by pulling specimens at room temperature, and they were reverse transformed by heating under various stresses. The change of surface relief during reverse transformation was observed by a hightemperature optical microscope equipped with a tensile machine. The recovery stress was measured by this apparatus after the “yclic transformation” was repeated various times. The reverse-transformed microstructures were observed by transmission electron microscopy. As a result, the amount of residual ε martensite increased with increasing stress applied during reverse transformation. As the “cyclic transformation” was repeated, the recovery stress remarkably increased at first, and then gradually decreased. This rapid increase of recovery stress is attributed to not only the increase of elongation when specimen is deformed but also the increase of stacking faults which act as nucleation sites of martensite. The decrease of recovery stress is attributed to the decrease of elongation.