Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mechanical behaviors of polycrystalline NiTi SMAs of various grain sizes under impact loading

  • Article
  • Published:
Science China Technological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This work presents mechanical properties of the NiTi polycrystalline superelastic shape memory alloys (SMA) of 5 different grain sizes under high-speed impacts. The amorphous, nanocrystalline (40, 80, 120 nm) and coarse grain (20 μm) sheets are manufactured with cold rolling and suitable heat treatments. A Hopkinson tensile bar is used to perform tests up to 45 m/s. High-speed camera system and digital image correlation method are used to get the strain field and particle velocity field at a sampling frequency of 2×106 frames/s with a resolution of 924×768 pixels. Nominal stress-strain curves are obtained for all the sheets with a strain rate of about 1000 s−1 and they have a similar evolution to the quasi-static case but with much higher stress levels. The rate sensitivity is increased with the grain size and the stress level can reach up to a 70% growth for a coarse grain sheet but be totally insensitive for the amorphous sheet in the strain rate from 10−4 to 103 s−1. A single transformation front can be found under high-speed impact (45 m/s) at the early loading stage. The speed of the transformation front is calculated from strain time histories and the highest front speed of 811 m/s is observed which is never observed before. It also reveals that the front speed depends also on the grain size. With the same loading speed, the bigger the grain size is, the slower the transformation front speed is.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bhattacharya K. Microstructure of Martensite: Why It Forms and How It Gives Rise to the Shape-Memory Effect. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  2. Lagoudas D C. Shape Memory Alloys: Modeling and Engineering Applications. Cham: Springer, 2008

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  3. Shaw J. Thermomechanical aspects of NiTi. J Mech Phys Solids, 1995, 43: 1243–1281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Shaw J A, Kyriakides S. On the nucleation and propagation of phase transformation fronts in a NiTi alloy. Acta Mater, 1997, 45: 683–700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Zhang X, Feng P, He Y, et al. Experimental study on rate dependence of macroscopic domain and stress hysteresis in NiTi shape memory alloy strips. Int J Mech Sci, 2010, 52: 1660–1670

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Pieczyska E A, Gadaj S P, Nowacki W K, et al. Phase-transformation fronts evolution for stress- and strain-controlled tension tests in TiNi shape memory alloy. Exp Mech, 2006, 46: 531–542

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Nemat-Nasser S, Choi J Y. Strain rate dependence of deformation mechanisms in a Ni-Ti-Cr shape-memory alloy. Acta Mater, 2005, 53: 449–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Nemat-Nasser S, Choi J Y, Guo W G, et al. Very high strain-rate response of a NiTi shape-memory alloy. Mech Mater, 2005, 37: 287–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Adharapurapu R R, Jiang F, Vecchio K S, et al. Response of NiTi shape memory alloy at high strain rate: A systematic investigation of temperature effects on tension-compression asymmetry. Acta Mater, 2006, 54: 4609–4620

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Huang H, Durand B, Sun Q P, et al. An experimental study of NiTi alloy under shear loading over a large range of strain rates. Int J Impact Eng, 2017, 108: 402–413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Niemczura J, Ravi-Chandar K. Dynamics of propagating phase boundaries in NiTi. J Mech Phys Solids, 2006, 54: 2136–2161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Escobar J C, Clifton R J, Yang S Y. Stress-wave-induced martensitic phase transformations in NiTi. Shock Compress Condens Matter, 1999, 267: 267–270

    Google Scholar 

  13. Xiao R, Hou B, Sun Q P, et al. An experimental investigation of the nucleation and the propagation of NiTi martensitic transformation front under impact loading. Int J Impact Eng, 2020, 140: 103559

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Waitz T, Kazykhanov V, Karnthaler H P. Martensitic phase transformations in nanocrystalline NiTi studied by TEM. Acta Mater, 2004, 52: 137–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Kim Y, Cho G, Hur S, et al. Nanocrystallization of a Ti-50.0Ni(at.%) alloy by cold working and stress/strain behavior. Mater Sci Eng-A, 2006, 438–440: 531–535

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Ahadi A, Sun Q. Effects of grain size on the rate-dependent thermomechanical responses of nanostructured superelastic NiTi. Acta Mater, 2014, 76: 186–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Xia M, Liu P, Sun Q. Grain size dependence of Young’s modulus and hardness for nanocrystalline NiTi shape memory alloy. Mater Lett, 2018, 211: 352–355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Mei Q S, Zhang L, Tsuchiya K, et al. Grain size dependence of the elastic modulus in nanostructured NiTi. Scr Mater, 2010, 63: 977–980

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Shi X B, Guo F M, Zhang J S, et al. Grain size effect on stress hysteresis of nanocrystalline NiTi alloys. J Alloys Compd, 2016, 688: 62–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Polatidis E, Šmid M, Kuběna I, et al. Deformation mechanisms in a superelastic NiTi alloy: An in-situ high resolution digital image correlation study. Mater Des, 2020, 191: 108622

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Wang X, Li C, Verlinden B, et al. Effect of grain size on aging microstructure as reflected in the transformation behavior of a low-temperature aged Ti-50.8at.% Ni alloy. Scr Mater, 2013, 69: 545–548

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Tilak Kumar J V, Jayaprakasam S, Padmanabhan K A, et al. On the tensile behaviour of coarse and ultrafine grained NiTi. Mater Charact, 2019, 149: 41–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Ahadi A, Sun Q. Stress hysteresis and temperature dependence of phase transition stress in nanostructured NiTi—Effects of grain size. Appl Phys Lett, 2013, 103: 021902

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Zhao H, Gary G. On the use of SHPB techniques to determine the dynamic behavior of materials in the range of small strains. Int J Solids Struct, 1996, 33: 3363–3375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Hopkinson B. A method of measuring the pressure produced in the detonation of high, explosives or by the impact of bullets. Phil Trans R Soc Lond A, 1914, 213: 437–456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Kolsky H. An investigation of the mechanical properties of materials at very high rates of loading. Proc Phys Soc B, 1949, 62: 676–700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Xiao R, Hou B, Sun Q P, et al. A numerical investigation of the nucleation and the propagation of NiTi martensitic transformation front under impact loading. Int J Impact Eng, 2021, 152: 103841

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aeronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, 710072, China

    Rui Xiao, Bing Hou & YuLong Li

  2. Departement of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, 999077, China

    QingPing Sun

  3. Laboratoire de Mécanique et Technologie, Cachan cedex, 94235, France

    Han Zhao

  4. Sorbonne Université, Paris, 75272, France

    Han Zhao

Authors
  1. Rui Xiao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bing Hou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. QingPing Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Han Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. YuLong Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Han Zhao.

Additional information

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11972310).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Xiao, R., Hou, B., Sun, Q. et al. Mechanical behaviors of polycrystalline NiTi SMAs of various grain sizes under impact loading. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 64, 1401–1411 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-020-1798-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-020-1798-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation