Bounds on the recoverable deformations of polycrystalline SMAs at finite strain

Abstract

Abstract. This communication is concerned with the theoretical prediction of the recoverable strains (i.e. the strains that can be recovered by the shape memory effect) in polycrystalline SMAs. The analysis is carried out in the finite strain setting, considering a nonlinear elasticity model of phase transformation. The main results are some rigorous upper bounds on the set of recoverable strains. Those bounds depend on the polycrystalline texture through the volume fractions of the different orientations. A two-orientation polycrystal of tetragonal martensite is studied as an illustration. In that case, analytical expressions of the upper bounds are derived and the results are compared with lower bounds obtained by considering laminate textures. The issue of applying the proposed method to complex polycrystalline textures is commented on.