Influence of Thermomechanical Treatment on Structural-Phase Transformations and Mechanical Properties of the Cu–Al–Ni Shape-Memory Alloys

Using the methods of optical and electron microscopy and electron and X-ray diffraction analyses, the influence of thermomechanical treatment on the mechanical properties, average grain size, and structural and phase transformations is investigated in the Cu–Al–Ni triple alloys exhibiting a shape memory effect. In the alloys under study with a fixed content of 3wt% Ni the concentration of aluminum was varied from 9 to 14 wt%. It is shown that in the alloys subjected to thermal treatment, including forging and homogenizing annealing using controlled recrystallization in the austenitic state followed by quenching, the grain-boundary disintegration and segregation disappear. It is found out that the microstructure of the alloys in the hot-forged and hardened states with the content of aluminum 9–10 wt%. consists of the grains of the average dimensions within 60–80 μm, with the content of aluminum 10–12 wt% – 100–350 μm, while in the alloys with the content of aluminum up to 14 12 wt% the average grain size reaches 1 mm. According to the data of mechanical testing at room temperature, with a decrease in the content of aluminum the ultimate tensile strength (σ_UTS), the yield strength (σ_М) and the relative elongation (δ) increase. An improvement of the mechanical properties of the alloys is attributed to the grain structure refinement of the β₂-austenite and package substructure of the β'₁-and γ'₁-martensites as the content of aluminum in the alloys decreases. For instance, in the fine-grained alloys containing 9.2 and 9.5 wt% Al the value of relative elongation remains at a high level (>10%), while for the other alloys with 10–14 wt% Al it does not exceed 5%. As the content of aluminum in the alloys decreases, the character of the specimen fracture under uniaxial tension changes (from brittle to ductile).