Fatigue of pseudoelastic NiTi within the stress-induced transformation regime: a modified Coffin-Manson approach

Strain controlled fatigue tests of a pseudoelastic nickel-titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy (SMA) have been carried out in this investigation. In particular, flat dog-bone shaped specimens, obtained from commercial NiTi sheets, have been analyzed, under pull-pull loading conditions, in two subsequent steps: (i) material stabilization and (ii) fatigue life estimation. The first step was carried out to obtain a stable pseudoelastic response of the SMA, i.e. with no residual deformations upon unloading, and it can be regarded as a preliminary processing condition of the alloy. Results on functional fatigue, i.e. in terms of stabilized pseudoelastic response, and on structural fatigue, in terms of cycles to failure, are reported and discussed. Furthermore, a modified Coffin-Manson approach for fatigue life estimation of SMAs is proposed, which takes into account the strain mechanisms involved during repeated stress-induced martensitic transformations.