Branching of twins in shape memory alloys revisited

0535644 - ÚT 2021 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Seiner, Hanuš - Plucinsky, P. - Dabade, V. - Benešová, Barbora - James, R. D.
Branching of twins in shape memory alloys revisited.
Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids. Roč. 141, August (2020), č. článku 103961. ISSN 0022-5096. E-ISSN 1873-4782
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA18-03834S; GA MŠMT(CZ) LTAUSA18199
Institutional support: RVO:61388998
Keywords : shape memory alloys * martensitic microstructures * branching * non-linear elasticity
OECD category: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.)
Impact factor: 5.471, year: 2020
Method of publishing: Open access
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022509620301964

We study the branching of twins appearing in shape memory alloys at the interface between austenite and martensite. In the framework of three-dimensional non-linear elasticity theory, we propose an explicit, low-energy construction of the branched microstructure, generally applicable to any shape memory material without restrictions on the symmetry class of martensite or on the geometric parameters of the interface. We show that the suggested construction follows the expected energy scaling law, i.e., that (for the surface energy of the twins being sufficiently small) the branching leads to energy reduction. Furthermore, the construction can be modified to capture different features of experimentally observed microstructures without violating this scaling law. By using a numerical procedure, we demonstrate that the proposed construction is able to predict realistically the twin width in a Cu-Al-Ni single crystal and to estimate an upper bound to the number of the branching generations.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0314051