In-situ high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction study of micromechanical behavior of multiple phases in Ni47Ti44Nb9 shape memory alloy

High-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction technique was used to in-situ characterize microstructure, lattice strain, and phase transition behavior of a Ni47Ti44Nb9 shape memory alloy. Phase transformation kinetics and deformation mechanisms were studied under a uniaxial tension at three testing temperatures, i.e., −70 °C, 25 °C, and 150 °C. At a testing temperature of −70 °C, a complicated phase transformation with four stages of micromechanical deformation was identified which is associated with changes of martensite substructures. At room temperature of 25 °C, there was no stress-induced selection process of variants of B19′ phases observed. Whereas at a testing temperature of 150 °C, there was no any phase transformation observed. It is verified that β-Nb phase, an effective stabilizer for the austenite, delays the process of martensitic transformation and relaxes the strain energy without strengthening the matrix. This new finding is important to understand the relationship between the micromechanical deformation behavior and phase transformations in the Ni47Ti44Nb9 SMA.