The effect of notches on the fracture behavior in NiTi shape memory alloys

Tensile fracture experiments have been performed on double-notch plate form specimens with different notch types and sizes. Specimen without notch is also studied. The macro-mechanical responses as well as detail examination of the fracture surface have been carried out. The stress, plastic strain and phase transformation fields are analyzed by finite element (FE) simulations using a pseudoelastic constitutive model which considers the permanent plastic deformation. Experimental results show that different type of notches can influence not only the macro-mechanic pseudoelastic but also plastic behaviors of the specimens. Both notch type and notch size affect the mechanism of crack initiation. Notch size influences the specimen behavior in different way for different type of notches. Most of the experimental observations are interpreted properly by the FE results.