Effects of dynamic loading on nano-scale depth-recovery and damping property of single crystal CuAlNi shape memory alloy

Abstract The effects of the loading rate on the nanoindentation depth-recovery and the damping property of a single crystal CuAlNi shape memory alloy were examined during nano-scale phase transition processes. The recovered depth decreases with loading rate and its rate dependency shows three distinct zones. With material’s high sensitivity to temperature, a dimensional analysis explains the phenomena with the balance between release and transfer of latent heat from the phase transition zone. The trend of CuAlNi’s damping property and its potential application in nano-dampers were further discussed.