Prediction of the initial crack tip microstructure in a single crystal of CuAlNi

The austenite to martensite pseudoelastic transformation induced by the anisotropic elastic crack tip stress field in a single crystal of shape memory alloy is considered. It is proposed that the orientation of the initial austenite-martensite interface that forms can be predicted based on knowledge of the stress field, the crystallography of the transformation and one of two selection criteria. These criteria are based on the work of formation of the martensite in stress field and the crack opening displacement the martensite causes at the crack. Predictions of the criteria are compared to experiments on three single edge notched CuAlNi single crystal specimens. Results indicate that the maximum work criterion accurately predicts the orientation of the austenite-martensite interfaces that initially form near a crack.