Effects of Ni-Ti-Cu alloy composition and heat treatment temperature after cold working on phase transformation characteristics

With regard to Ni-50Ti-Cu (at%) shape memory alloys, phase transformation characteristics under no stress were studied at the copper content of 6–9 at% using differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analysis. In solution-treated materials, B2-orthorhombic transformation occurs at the copper content of 7.6 at% or more. With the increase in copper content, the temperature for B2-orthorhombic transformation gradually increases, whereas the temperature for the orthorhombic-monoclinic phase transformation resulting from decreasing temperature rapidly falls. The phase transformation temperature in 27% cold-worked materials remains virtually constant, despite the copper content, and increases with increasing heat-treatment temperature. The hysteresis in the B2-orthorhombic transformation stabilized via cold working is as low as 18 K.