Excellent pseudoelasticity of Al-rich Fe–33Mn–17Al–6Ni–0.15C (at%) shape memory single crystals obtained without an aging conditioning stage

Abstract

The pseudoelastic behavior of a series of Fe?33Mn?17Al?6Ni?0.15C (at%) shape memory alloy single crys- tals was analysed with compression tests. The specimens, with different crystallographic orientations, showed almost 100% strain recovery after a full stress-induced martensitic transformation. The size and distribution of precipitates introduced in the alloy processing proved to be clearly suitable for achieving a completely reversible pseudoelastic transformation, without the need of additional aging in this Al-rich alloy. The transformation strain was analysed using the phenomenological theory of martensite transfor- mation. This model roughly describes the pseudoelastic strain under compression as a function of the crystallographic orientation.