Finite element simulation and experimental investigation on the effect of temperature on pseudoelastic behavior of perforated Ni–Ti shape memory alloy strips

In the present study, the temperature-dependent pseudoelastic behavior of shape memory alloy (SMA) sheets is studied experimentally and by finite element (FE) modeling. For this purpose, temperature-dependent mechanical properties for Ni–Ti alloy materials are first obtained by using direct tensile and three-point bending experiments at 23 °C, 50 °C, and 80 °C temperatures, respectively. The structure of these materials is examined at different temperatures using SEM images and the XRD test. Furthermore, using the FE model, the pseudoelastic behavior and the effect of temperature on the residual deflection of the prose-shape memory strips with a circular hole under three-point bending loads are studied. After validating the results of the FE model with the results of experimental tests, the effects of various parameters such as the diameter and number of holes on residual deformation and residual strains are investigated. The results show that with increasing temperature, the mechanical properties including the tensile strength, Young’s modulus, yield stress, and flexural strength of SMA strips increase significantly. For solid strips, although increasing the temperature increases the maximum flexural force, in contrast, it reduces the flexural stiffness. In solid strips, flexural stiffness decreases by 5.5% with increasing temperature from 23 °C to 80 °C.