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The thermomechanical behavior of shape memory alloys is now well mastered. However, a hindrance to their sustainable use is the lack of knowledge of their fracture behavior. With the aim of filling this partial gap, fracture tests on edge-cracked specimens in NiTi have been made. Particular attention was paid to determine the phase transformation zones in the vicinity of the crack tip. In one hand, experimental kinematic fields are observed using digital image correlation showing strain localization around the crack tip. In the other hand, an analytical prediction, based on a modified equivalent stress criterion and taking into account the asymmetric behavior of shape memory alloys in tension-compression, provides shape and size of transformation outset zones. Experimental results are relatively in agreement with our analytical modeling.

Shape memory alloys (SMA) show several interesting features in their material behavior which are due to martensitic phase transformation. In NiTi, this transformation covers the three crystallographic phases of austenite, martensite, and R-phase. This publication analyzes the influence of the R-phase formation on the overall material behavior by means of a micromechanical model. The model is based on energy minimization with the assumption of a certain energy dissipation when martensite is formed. To simplify the formulation, the dissipation associated with the transformation between austenite and R-phase is neglected, since the geometrical change in unit cell geometry is relatively small in this case. Numerical simulations show that especially the slope reduction in the stress–strain curve, which is known from experiments, can be explained by R-phase formation.

Laser welding is a suitable joining technique for shape memory alloys (SMAs). This paper reports the existence of shape memory effect (SME) on laser welded NiTi joints, subjected to bending tests, and correlates this effect with the microstructural analysis performed with X-ray diffraction (XRD). All welded samples were able to recover their initial shape after bending to 180°, which is a remarkable result for industrial applications of NiTi involving laser welding.

Precipitation hardening is an effective way to improve the functional stability of NiTi shape memory alloys. The precipitates, mainly Ni₄Ti₃, could be introduced by aging treatment in Ni-rich NiTi alloys. However, the presence of Ni₄Ti₃ precipitates could disturb the transformation behavior, resulting in the multi-stage martensitic transformation (MMT). With the presence of MMT, it is difficult to control the transformation behavior, and thus limits the applicability of NiTi alloys. In this work, previous efforts on explaining the observed MMT are summarized. The difficulties in developing a unified explanation are discussed, and a possible way to avoid the MMT is proposed.

Owing to geometrical non-uniformity, geometrically graded shape memory alloy (SMA) structures by design have the ability to exhibit different and novel thermal and mechanical behaviors compared to geometrically uniform conventional SMAs. This paper reports a study of the pseudoelastic behavior of geometrically graded NiTi plates. This geometrical gradient creates partial stress gradient over stress-induced martensitic transformation, providing enlarged stress controlling interval for shape memory actuation. Finite element modeling framework has been established to predict the deformation behavior of such structures in tensile loading cycles, which was validated by experiments. The modeling results show that the transformation mostly propagates along the gradient direction as the loading level increases.

The severe nonlinear behavior caused by the martensitic transformation (MT) and subsequent plastic deformation (PD) of detwinned martensite leads to a complex local stress redistribution at the location of stress risers of superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) components. Nevertheless, in the literature, the simple linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) equations are widely used in the evaluation of the fracture response of superelastic components which has resulted in obvious conflicts between the conclusions regarding the effect of MT on the fracture parameters, i.e. stress intensity factor (SIF) and material toughness. Furthermore, the linear elasticity method is frequently used in the literature to calculate the stress intensity range ($\mathrm{\Delta }K$) when the fatigue crack growth rate dependence on $\mathrm{\Delta }K$ ($da∕dN-\mathrm{\Delta }K$) is being evaluated. Moreover, the PD followed by MT is poorly considered in the fracture mechanics of SMAs. This paper presents a numerical investigation on the role of both MT and PD, as well as the notch acuity, on the evolution of notch-tip stresses and strains and stress concentration factor ($K_{\mathrm{\text{tn}}}$) upon the incremental application of the macroscopic tensile load on a thin NiTi notched superelastic ribbon, to mimic the effects of MT and PD on the SIF of superelastic parts. It is revealed that MT results in drastic deviations of the notch-tip stress, as well as the stress concentration factor ($K_{\mathrm{\text{tn}}}$), from that obtained in LEFM. Due to the heterogeneous evolution of MT, the trend of the deviations is not regular and unique upon monotonic external loading. Accordingly, the results represent the ineffectiveness of the LEFM method in the evolution of the stress concentration factor (hence, the SIF) and toughness in monotonic loading, as well as the stress intensity range ($\mathrm{\Delta }K$) under fatigue loading in SMA components.