Evolution of crack-tip transformation zones in superelastic Nitinol subjected to in situ fatigue: A fracture mechanics and synchrotron X-ray microdiffraction analysis

The ultrahigh spatial resolution (∼1 μm²) of synchrotron X-ray microdiffraction is combined with fracture mechanics techniques to directly measure in situ three-dimensional strains, phases and crystallographic alignment ahead of a growing fatigue crack (100 cycles in situ) in superelastic Nitinol. The results provide some surprising insights into the growth of cracks in phase-transforming material at the microscale. Specifically, despite a macroscopic superelastic strain recovery of 6-8% associated with the phase transformation, individual austenite grains experience local strains of less than 1.5%. This observation indicates that it is the localized process of the accommodation of the transformation and subsequent loading of the martensite that provide the main source of the large recoverable strains. Furthermore, the plastic region ahead of the crack is composed of deformed martensite. This micromechanical transformation process is dependent upon the material texture, and directly influences the transformation zone size/shape as well as the crack path.