A cyclic integrated microstructural-mechanical model for a shape memory alloy

Abstract Shape memory alloys are able to recover the initial shape even after a large deformation. The memory property is due to the ability to change the microstructure under a variation of the stress state or the temperature. The stress–strain curve is characterized by the presence of a stage where the slope of the curve sharply decreases and the initial microstructure transforms into a new one. In this work, an integrated microstructural-mechanical model is proposed for the equiatomic NiTi shape memory alloy, that is suitable to predict the cyclic behaviour of a pseudoelastic shape memory alloy starting from the microstructure composition.