TEMPERATURE ASSESSMENT OF TiNi SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY SUBJECTED TO COMPRESSION AT QUASISTATIC AND DYNAMIC STRAIN RATES

This work compares the thermomechanical behavior of TiNi shape memory alloy subjected to the compression test performed under various strain rates. The mechanical characteristics of the material were elaborated. The specimen temperature changes related to the exothermic martensitic forward and endothermic reverse transformation were measured in a contact-less manner by a very fast and sensitive infrared camera. It has been found that in this experimental condition the stress-induced transformation and reorientation processes occurred homogeneously, since the temperature distribution observed on the specimen surface was uniform. The obtained temperature variation depends on the strain rate applied. At the higher strain rate the higher temperature changes were obtained, because the heat flow to the surroundings was lower and the process was closer to adiabatic conditions. The temperature changes influence significantly the SMA stress-strain curves and their mechanical properties.