Superelastic response of the FeNiCoAlTi single crystals under tension and compression

The superelastic response of the Fe 43.5 Ni 28 Co 17 Al 11.5 Ti 2.5 single crystalline shape memory alloy was investigated along the [1 0 0] orientation in both tension and compression. A fully recoverable superelastic loop was observed under both tension and compression within the temperature range of −80 to 0 °C. At higher temperatures, while up to 6% superelastic strain was attainable in tension, the superelasticity deteriorates quickly under compressive strains exceeding 2%. The asymmetric response is likely caused by different numbers of stress-activated martensite variants in tension and compression.