G. Bigelow, D. J. Gaydosh, A. Garg, S. A. Padula II, R. D. Noebe, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH
High-temperature shape memory NiTiPd and NiTiPdX (X=Au, Pt, Hf) alloys were produced with titanium equivalent (Ti+Hf) compositions of 50.5, 50.0, and 49.5 at.%. Thermo-mechanical testing in compression was used to evaluate the transformation temperatures, transformation strain, work output, and permanent deformation behavior of each alloy to study the effects of quaternary alloying and stoichiometry on high-temperature shape memory alloy behavior. Microstructural evaluation showed the presence of second phases for all alloy compositions. No load transformation temperatures in the stoichiometric alloys were relatively unchanged by Au and Pt substitutions, while the substitution of Hf for Ti causes a drop in transformation temperatures. The NiTiPd, NiTiPdAu and NiTiPdHf alloys exhibited transformation temperatures that were highest in the Ti-rich compositions, slightly lower at stoichiometry, and significantly reduced when the Ti equivalent composition was less than 50 at.%. For the NiTiPdPt alloy, transformation temperatures were highest for the Ti-rich compositions, lowest at stoichiometry, and slightly higher in the Ni-rich composition. When thermally cycled under constant stresses of up to 300 MPa, all of the alloys had transformation strains, and therefore work outputs, which increased with increasing stress. In each series of alloys, the transformation strain and thus work output was highest for stoichiometric or Ti-rich compositions while permanent strain associated with the constant-load thermal cycling was lowest for alloys with Ni-equivalent-rich compositions. Based on these results, basic rules for optimizing the composition of NiTiPd alloys for actuator performance will be discussed. (This work was funded by the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Program, Subsonic Fixed Wing Project.)
Summary: High temperature shape memory NiTiPd, NiTiPdAu, NiTiPdHf and NiTiPdPt alloys with titanium equivalent compositions (Ti+Hf) of 50.5, 50.0, and 49.5 at.% were produced. Transformation temperatures, transformation strain, work output, and permanent deformation were determined via thermal cycling at constant stresses of up to 300 MPa, and related to the alloy composition. Based on these results, basic rules for optimizing the composition of NiTiPd based alloys for actuator performance will be discussed.