Orientation-dependent plastic deformation mechanisms and competition with stress-induced phase transformation in microscale NiTi

Abstract

Understanding the orientation-dependent deformation behavior of NiTi shape-memory alloys at small length scales is of importance for designing nano- and micro-electromechanical systems. However, a complete understanding of the orientation- and size-dependent competition between the various modes of slip, deformation twinning, and martensitic transformation in NiTi shape-memory alloys is still lacking, especially in micron-scale specimens. In the present study, we perform micro-compression tests on [001]- and [112]-oriented micro-pillars of a solutionized Ti-49.9at.% Ni alloy. Post-mortem TEM analysis of the deformed pillars reveal that the operating plastic deformation modes are {011}<100> slip and {114}<22 1 > deformation twinning, which compete with the martensitic transformation, depending on the crystal orientation. Furthermore, in both experiments and molecular dynamics simulations, we consistently find residual B19' martensite in a herringbone microstructure composed of finely spaced (001)(B19') compound twins instead of the generally assumed [011](B19') type II twins common in bulk samples, suggesting that the operative martensitic transformation mode may be size-dependent. Schmid factors in compression are calculated for all commonly reported slip, deformation twinning, and martensitic transformation modes as a function of crystallographic orientation, which rationalize the orientationdependent competition between these deformation modes. (C) 2021 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.