Advances in transformation ratcheting and ratcheting-fatigue interaction of NiTi shape memory alloy

The accumulation of inelastic deformation occurring in NiTi shape memory alloy under the stress-controlled cyclic loading condition is named transformation ratcheting, since it is mainly caused by the solid-solid transformation from austenite to martensite phase and vice versa. The transformation ratcheting and its effect on the fatigue life (i.e., transformation-fatigue interaction) are key issues that should be addressed in order to assess the fatigue of NiTi shape memory alloy more accurately. In this paper, the advances in the studies on the transformation ratcheting and ratcheting-fatigue interaction of super-elastic NiTi shape memory alloy in recent years are reviewed: First, experimental observation of the uniaxial transformation ratcheting and ratcheting-fatigue interaction of super-elastic NiTi alloy under the stress-controlled cyclic loading conditions is treated, and the detrimental effect of transformation ratcheting on the fatigue life is addressed; Secondly, two types of cyclic constitutive models (i.e., a macroscopic phenomenological model and a micromechanical one based on crystal plasticity) constructed to describe the transformation ratcheting of super-elastic NiTi alloy are discussed; Furthermore, an energy-based failure model is provided and dealt with by comparing its predicted fatigue lives with experimental ones; Finally, some suggestions about future work are made.