Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 October 2011
Many unresolved issues remain in the field of modelling of shape memory alloys. In this paper the problem of unequal elastic properties of austenite and martensite is addressed. We propose a modification of the micromechanical material model that enables the application of different Young's modulus for austenite and martensite. The corresponding computational model for the application of the micromechanical approach to modeling of superelasticity in shape memory alloys is demonstrated. Material properties for Ni-Ti alloy (50.8 at.% Ni) obtained from literature and from our own experiments were applied to the model and a sample calculation of a 3D model subjected to uniaxial loading was performed. The results were compared to experimental results obtained from tensile and compressive tests. In general the presented model predicts well the level of the superelastic stress plateau and maximum transformation strain in tension. The agreement in compression is worse but the overall characteristics of the tension-compression asymmetry are predicted correctly.