Influence of the mechanical loading history on the stress assisted two way memory effect in a Ti-Ni-Cu alloy

In this work, several tests of thermal cycling under constant load are carried out on Ti-45.0Ni-5.0Cu (at%) shape memory wires. The properties related to the Stress Assisted Two Way Memory Effect (SATWME) of the material are investigated as a function of the mechanical loading history for the same temperature range during cooling and heating. For this reason, two thermomechanical tests have been employed: tests I, where one sample is used for just one constant stress level test and tests II, where only one sample is employed for several constant stress level tests in sequence. The results obtained show that for loads applied below 150 MPa, the transformation temperatures and the thermal hysteresis associated with the transformation of the material are the same during the two tests. However, above 150 MPa in tests II transformation temperatures and thermal hysteresis are respectively higher and smaller than the ones obtained in tests I. On the other hand, transformation temperatures obtained from both tests are in good agreement with the ones measured by DSC and electrical resistance measurements. It is also observed that the SATWME obtained by tests II is smaller than the one measured during tests I. It is shown that these different behaviors are induced by accumulation of plastic strain in the sample during tests II.