Materials Science and Engineering A 394 (2005) 78–82

Damping behavior of TiNi-based shape memory alloys

W. Cai, X.L. Lu∗ , L.C. Zhao
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 405, Harbin 150001, China

Received 16 August 2004; received in revised form 1 November 2004; accepted 15 November 2004

Abstract

The damping behavior of TiNi-based alloys has been investigated by dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) instruments. It shows that
an appropriate cold-rolling deformation on the martensitic Ti50 Ni50 alloy can enhance its damping capacity. The damping behavior of the
Ti49.2 Ni50.8 alloy is aging condition dependent and the damping capacity peak value corresponding to the phase transformation increases due
to the increase of the amount of boundaries between the martensite and parent phase as a result of the existence of the Ti3 Ni4 particles. The
Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy possesses high damping capacity either during phase transformation or in the parent phase, which is very important for the
engineering application.
© 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Damping; Cold rolling; Secondary particles; TiNi-based alloys

1. Introduction hard particles and the damping capacity of TiNiNb alloys

In recent years, TiNi-based shape memory alloys have
started to attract increasing attention due to their damping
properties. It has also been found that TiNi-based alloys can
exhibit high damping capacity during phase transformation
or in the martensitic state, which open a new application field
in engineering [1–4]. In the past, there have been many ap-
plications to utilize the damping properties in civil construc-
tions, especially in buildings and bridges against earthquake
damage [5,6]. From the application point of view, the investi-
gations about the influence factors on damping capacity are of
importance. Nowadays, the effects of the temperature chang-
ing rate, the frequency and the strain amplitude on the damp-
ing capacity have been systematically investigated [7,8], and
several researches have been conducted on TiNi-based al-
loys having different composition, processing histories, etc.
[9,10]. But, the results about the effects of cold-rolling de-
formation in martensite state and the secondary particles on
the damping capacity are very limited.
In this paper, the damping capacity of the deformed
martensite, the aged Ni-rich TiNi alloys which have Ti3 Ni4
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 451 86412163; fax: +86 451 86413922.
E-mail address: luxili@hit.edu.cn (X.L. Lu).
which have ␤-Nb soft particles have been investigated by us-
ing dynamical mechanical analyzer (DMA) measurements.
The effects of cold-rolling deformation and secondary parti-
cles on the damping capacity are discussed and the signifi-
cance on engineering applications is also illustrated.
2. Experimental
The materials used in these experiments are a Ti50 Ni50 al-
loy, a Ni-rich Ti49.2 Ni50.8 alloy and a Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy. The
plates of Ti50 Ni50 alloy were solution treated and then were
cold-rolled at room temperature to 8, 15, 21% reductions in
thickness after having been quenched into liquid nitrogen to
achieve full martensitic structure at the beginning. Samples
with the dimensions of 48 mm × 6 mm × 1 mm were spark
cut. The specimens of Ti49.2 Ni50.8 alloy were solution treated
then aged in the 500 ◦ C for 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 h, respectively,
in quartz capsules and then quenched into water. The speci-
mens of Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy were annealed at 850 ◦ C for 1 h in
quartz capsules and furnace cooled. The Perkin-Elmer Dia-
mond DSC was used to determine the transformation temper-
atures Mf , Ms , As , Af . The weights of samples for DSC mea-
surement were 10–20 mg, and the heating and cooling rates

0921-5093/$ – see front matter © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.msea.2004.11.030
 W. Cai et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 394 (2005) 78–82
Table 1
The transformation temperature of the experimental alloys
Composition Heat treatment
Ti50 Ni50 850 ◦ C × 2 h, water cooled
Ti49.2 Ni50.8 850 ◦ C × 2 h, water cooled
Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 850 ◦ C × 1 h, furnace cooled
were 10 ◦ C/min. During measurements, the samples were
first quickly heated to 150 ◦ C and then cooled to −150 ◦ C
at constant cooling rate. When the preset low temperature
was reached, the specimen was again heated to 150 ◦ C at
10 ◦ C/min (see Table 1).
Damping tests were performed either in temperature vari-
ation or at room temperature using a dynamic mechanical
analyzer (Rheometric Scientific DMA IV) instrument. Dur-
ing temperature variation measurements, the samples were
at first quickly heated to 60 ◦ C, which was well above the
Af temperature, and then cooled to −140 ◦ C at a cooling
rate of 5 ◦ C/min. The measuring frequency was 1 Hz and the
strain amplitude was 3 × 10−5 . At room temperature mea-
surement, the frequency of oscillation was in the range of
0.1–10 Hz, while the strain amplitude was in the range of
1 × 10−5 –1 × 10−4 .
3. Results and discussion
3.1. The damping behavior of martensite in Ti50 Ni50
alloy with different cold-rolling deformation
The damping capacity versus frequency curves of marten-
site in Ti50 Ni50 alloy with different cold-rolling deformation
are shown in Fig. 1. It can be observed that the evolution
of the damping capacity with the frequency is quite differ-
ent. The 8 and 15% deformed martensite specimens show the
similar behavior: with the increase of frequency, the damp-
ing capacity decreases drastically at the beginning, and then
Fig. 1. The damping capacity vs. frequency curves of deformed marten-
site for Ti50 Ni50 alloy. The strain amplitude was 3 × 10−5 and the testing
temperature was room temperature.
79
Mf (◦ C) Ms (◦ C) As (◦ C) Af (◦ C)
21 68 47 79
−123 −105 −79 −57
−125 −88 −56 −15
decreases slightly. However, the damping capacity of the ther-
mal martensite and the 21% deformed martensite decreases
slightly with frequency increasing in the whole range.
The damping capacity has been plotted as a function of
the cold-rolling degree in Fig. 2. The results show that the
damping capacity of martensite goes up with an increase of
the cold-rolling degree, and then drops with further increasing
the cold-rolling degree when the frequency and amplitude are
constant.
As we know, the damping capacity of martensite is closely
related to the movement of twin interfaces. It is also well
known that dislocations can be induced through the cold-
rolling deformation and the movement of dislocations also
contribute to the damping capacity of materials. Thus, it is
reasonable that the damping capacity of the deformed marten-
site arises from two aspects, i.e. interface damping and dislo-
cation damping. The relationship between damping capacity
and frequency observed in the 8 and 15% deformed marten-
site attributed either to the motion of the dislocations or the
motion of the interfaces. Furthermore, the experimental re-
sults mentioned in Fig. 2 can be explained as follows: on
the one hand, the interface damping is determined by the
mobility of the interfaces and the occurrence of dislocations
can lower their mobility, in consequence, the interface damp-
ing decreases when the cold-rolling degree increases. On the
other hand, according to the Granato-Lücke model the dis-
location damping is proportional to the dislocation density
and also related to the mobility of dislocations. At the begin-
ning, with the increase of cold-rolling degree, the dislocation
damping increases due to the increasing of dislocation den-
sity. However, the mobility of dislocation decreases as a result
Fig. 2. The damping capacity as a function of cold-rolling degree for
Ti50 Ni50 alloy. The strain amplitude was 3 × 10−5 , the frequency was 0.1 Hz
and the testing temperature was room temperature.
80 W. Cai et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 394 (2005) 78–82

Fig. 3. The damping capacity vs. temperature curves of Ti49.2 Ni50.8 alloy with different aging conditions: 500 ◦ C aging (a) 0 h; (b) 1 h; (c) 2 h; (d) 4 h; (e) 8 h;
(f) 16 h. The strain amplitude was 3 × 10−5 , the frequency was 1 Hz and the cooling rate was 5 ◦ C/min.

of increasing dislocation density. The combination of the two
aspects can explain the variation of damping capacity with
the cold-rolling degree in the martensite.
3.2. The damping behavior of Ti49.2 Ni50.8 alloy with
different aging conditions
Fig. 3(a)–(f) gives the damping capacity as a function of
temperature during cooling for the Ti49.2 Ni50.8 alloy with sev-
eral different aging conditions. It can be seen from Fig. 3(a)
that there is one damping capacity peak which is associated
with the martensitic transformation. Fig. 3(b) demonstrates
that there are two peaks observed on cooling. Peak P1 is obvi-
ously associated with the R-phase transformation, and peak
P2 corresponds to the martensitic transformation [3]. Other-
wise, a broad peak, or rather a hump, observed in the temper-
ature range about from −60 to −100 ◦ C. Fig. 3(c) shows that
three damping capacity peaks occur apparently and among
them P2 is considered to correspond to martensitic transfor-
mation. Fig. 3(d) exhibits the same behavior as Fig. 3(c), but
 W. Cai et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 394 (2005) 78–82 81

the peak values and the temperature located are different. In

Fig. 3(e), there exist two peaks again which are associated
with R-phase transformation and martensitic transformation,
respectively. Fig. 3(f) is very similar to Fig. 3(e). It is worth
noticing that in Fig. 3(e) and (f), the damping capacity keeps
an almost constant value at a relatively wide temperature
range about from the 0 to 18 ◦ C, which may provide po-
tential engineering applications. Aging treatment in Ni-rich
alloy will induce R-phase transformation, which corresponds
to the new damping capacity peak in the aging specimens. In
Fig. 3(c) and (d), the three damping capacity peaks are con-
sidered to be related to the multi-step transformation [11].
Choosing the damping capacity peak corresponding to the
martensitic transformation from the Ti49.2 Ni50.8 alloy with
different aging conditions, it can be seen that in general, the
damping capacity peak value of the aging treatment speci-
mens is higher than that of unaged specimen. Moreover, the
damping capacity peak value increases with increasing aging Fig. 4. The damping capacity vs. temperature curves for Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy.
The strain amplitude was 3 × 10−5 , the frequency was 1 Hz and the cooling
time below 2 h and decreases when above it. There could be rate was 5 ◦ C/min.
two reasons for the observed phenomena. First, in the early
aging state, the Ti3 Ni4 precipitates in the specimens are fine, vided the nucleus sites for the martensite. As a consequence,
disperse and good coherence with the matrix [12], which in- the amount of boundaries between the martensite and par-
duced internal strain fields around them. It is suggested that ent phase increases, which may be greatly beneficial to the
the improvement of damping capacity peak value maybe arise damping capacity during the phase transformation. The rea-
from the internal strain fields. With the aging time prolong, son that the aged Ti49.2 Ni50.8 alloys exhibit the high damping
the Ti3 Ni4 precipitates are coarsened and the internal stress capacity during phase transformation is the same with it.
fields become weak, as a result of the decreasing of damp- Fig. 5 shows the damping capacity as a function of fre-
ing capacity peak, which is in accordance with the previous quency for the Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy in the parent phase state. It
suggestion. Second, the interfaces between the precipitates indicates that the damping capacity decreases drastically at
and the matrix also contribute to the damping capacity dur- the beginning and then slightly decreases when the vibration
ing phase transformation and the reason is explained below. frequency is larger than 0.15 Hz. It is of great interest that the
However, the details of how the Ti3 Ni4 precipitates affect the damping capacity of parent phase reaches a very high value
damping capacity are under further studies. at 0.1 Hz, which is even higher than the result of thermal
martensite in Fig. 1.
3.3. The damping behavior of the Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy Fig. 6 demonstrates the evolution of the damping capacity
as a function of strain amplitude in the parent phase for the
The damping capacity of the Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy as a func- Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy. It can be seen that the damping capacity
tion of temperature in the cooling process is shown in Fig. 4.
It shows that one damping capacity peak appears due to
the martensitic transformation, however, above the Ms tem-
perature, the damping capacity remains nearly constant in
a rather wide temperature range. Comparing the result of
Figs. 3(a) and 4, it is worth noticing that the damping capac-
ity peak value corresponding to martensitic transformation of
Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy is much higher than that of the Ti49.2 Ni50.8
alloy.
As we know, during the martensitic transformation, most
of the energy is dissipated due to the movement of marten-
site/parent interfaces, which causes the peak of the damping
capacity to appear in the transformation region. That is to
say, the dissipated energy is due to the creation or the motion
of the interphase boundaries. Therefore, the experimental re-
sults can be explained as follows: the microstructure of the
Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy is characterized by an ordered TiNi ma- Fig. 5. The damping capacity tan δ vs. frequency curve for Ti44 Ni47 Nb9
trix phase containing a fine dispersion of ␤-Nb particles [13]. alloy. The strain amplitude was 3 × 10−5 and the testing temperature was
The interfaces between the ␤-Nb particles and matrix pro- room temperature.
82 W. Cai et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 394 (2005) 78–82
Fig. 6. The damping capacity vs. strain amplitude curve for Ti44 Ni47 Nb9
alloy. The frequency was 0.1 Hz and the testing temperature was room tem-
perature.
of the parent phase decreases rapidly with an increase of
strain amplitude at first, and then decreases slowly after the
amplitude reaches a certain value of about 3 × 10−5 .
It is well known that ␤-Nb particles existing in TiNiNb
alloys are soft and easily deformed by external stress. Thus,
there are dislocations existing in the vicinity of interfaces
between ␤-Nb particles and the matrix as a result of lattice
mismatching. These dislocations maybe move under a certain
external stress due to the low stiffness of the ␤-Nb particles,
which can contribute to the high damping capacity in the par-
ent phase of the Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy. Additionally, we suggest
that the high damping capacity of the parent phase for the
Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy is closely related to the low strength of
soft ␤-Nb particles existing in the Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy, which
will be studied further. As we know, even though the marten-
site of TiNi alloys has high damping capacity, it has relatively
low strength compared with the parent phase. According to
the experimental result, the parent phase of the Ti44 Ni47 Nb9
alloy possesses high damping capacity at low strain amplitude
and low frequency conditions, which is very significant for
engineering applications because the materials which possess
not only enough damping capacity but also enough strength
should be pursued.
4. Conclusions
The damping capacity of martensite in the Ti50 Ni50 al-
loy first increases with the increasing cold-rolling deforma-
tion, and then decreases with further increase of the cold-
rolling degree. The specimen with 8% deformation degree
has the highest damping capacities at the frequency range
of 0.1–10 Hz, which are obviously higher than that of unde-
formed martensite. The dislocations introduced by the cold-
rolling deformation are responsible for these high damping
capacities.
Aging treatment for Ti49.2 Ni50.8 alloy can apparently
enhance the damping capacity during phase transforma-
tion. The highest damping capacity arises from the in-
crease of the amount of boundaries between the marten-
site and parent phase due to the existence of the Ti3 Ni4
particles because the interfaces between the Ti3 Ni4 parti-
cles and matrix provided the nucleus sites for the marten-
site.
The Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy possesses high damping capacity
during martensitic transformation as well as in parent phase
and martensite, which is closely related to the ␤-Nb soft
particles existing in the Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy and the motion
of dislocations in the vicinity of interfaces between ␤-Nb
particles and matrix. The high damping capacity of parent
phase for the Ti44 Ni47 Nb9 alloy provides potential applica-
tions for engineering because of enough damping capacity
and strength.
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