Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 1336–1343

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Study of machinability aspects of shape memory alloys: A critical review

Soni Kumari a,⇑, Dinbandhu b, Kumar Abhishek b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, GLA University, Mathura 281406, UP, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Infrastructure Technology, Research and Management, Ahmedabad 380026, Gujarat, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Memory metals or memory alloys or smart metals are those alloys which get deformed when cold and
Received 28 September 2020 returns to their preformed shape when subjected to heating. Their exquisite properties make these alloys
Received in revised form 15 October 2020 an ideal material for several engineering applications. The recent developments in these materials have
Accepted 14 November 2020
attracted the interest of the scientific community. In this context, an attempt has been made to provide
Available online 30 December 2020
an overview of the shape memory alloys (SMAs) along with their deformation mechanism. The study fur-
ther explores the classifications and advantages of different shape memory alloys. Various machining
Keywords:
processes adopted for machining shape memory alloys as well as the making of these alloys have been
Shape memory alloy
Smart metal
also articulated in this review. Besides all these, a light has been also thrown on the significant charac-
SMAs teristics of these materials in addition to their applications in automobile, aerospace, robotic, and
Unconventional process biomedical fields.
Shape memory polymers Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Confer-
ence on Materials, Processing & Characterization.

1. Introduction studies which resulted in more than 20,000 patents related to

The shape-memory effect (SME) and superelasticity (SE), these
two properties make such material a smart material. These proper-
ties also place them as the center of studies in the field of Material
Science for the various researchers on the globe. One of the most
common shape memory alloys is made up of Titanium and Nickel
and intermetallic compounds, known as Nitinol alloy or NiTi alloy,
and hence most of the research is referred to it. The market is occu-
pied by Nitinol alloys-based shape memory products in the market.
One chief reason for this is the excellent mechanical and electrical
properties besides high fatigue life and high corrosion resistance,
possessed by Nitinol. Two very important factors that derive the
manufacturing technology are better quality and reduced cost.
SMAs are highly desirable in today’s industrial requirements which
generally demands high dimensional and fine surface finish prod-
ucts at a nominal cost. Low machining cost is always preferable
which can be achieved by increasing (MMR) material removal rate
and enhanced tool life this holds great importance from an eco-
nomic point of view. Considering the worth of this material for
the engineering world, a lot of researchers have carried out their
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: soni.1802@gmail.com (S. Kumari).
SMA worldwide and out of the 10,000 in the USA only.
SMAs (shape memory alloys) are those alloys that undergo a
memorization process between two transformations, which is a
magnetic field or temperature-dependent. This incident of trans-
formation is known as (SME) the shape memory effect. The princi-
ple of such alloys is quite simple i.e. these alloys will get deformed
when subjected to an external force or load, and when subjected to
heating beyond a specified temperature either by internal or exter-
nal heating, will regain to its pre deformed state. Practically, SMAs
exhibit two different kinds of phases that possess three different
kinds of crystal structures (i.e. detwinned martensite, austenite,
and twinned martensite) and six possible transformations [3,4]
(see Fig. 1).
The martensite structure stabilizes at lower temperatures while
the austenite structure stabilizes at a higher temperature. When
heat is supplied to an SMA, a transformation from the martensite
phase into the austenite phase takes place. There are two temper-
atures involve during transformation i.e. the austenite-start-
temperature (As) and the austenite-finish-temperature (Af). The
temperature where this transformation begins is known as the
austenite-start-temperature (As) and where this transformation
completes is known as the austenite-finish-temperature (Af). The
transformation that occurs as mentioned above, is possible even
when subjected to high loads, this results in high actuation energy

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.11.390
2214-7853/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Materials, Processing & Characterization.
S. Kumari, Dinbandhu and K. Abhishek
Fig. 1. SMA crystal structures and phases [1,2].
densities. When an SMA undergoes a cooling process, the transfor-
mation tends to reverse to the martensite which is termed as
martensite start-temperature (Ms), and completes when it reaches
to martensite-finish-temperature (Mf). Md is termed as the highest
temperature at which no further stress can be induced into
martensite, and above this peak temperature, an SMA starts deforming
to the plastic deformation stage like other metallic material [38].
Super elasticity (or pseudoelasticity) and SME which are termed
as shape change effects, can be classified further into three shape
memory characteristics as follows:

OWSME (One-way shape memory effect): In one-way when an
external load is applied it undergoes the deformation and its
original state is retained upon releasing the applied load subse-
quently heating it.

Reversible SME or TWSME (Two-way shape memory effect):
When an SMA has the tendency to reverse to its pre deforma-
tion state or has the tendency to regain its original shape at both
low and high temperatures, then an SMA is considered to have
the tendency of TWSME. Although, TWSMA is less viable com-
mercially as for the same material [5] it produces nearly half
of the recovery strain in contrast OWSMA also at high temper-
atures strain tends to deteriorate quickly [6]. Therefore, a reli-
able and economical solution is provided by OWSMA [7].

Super elasticity (SE) or Pseudo elasticity (PE): When the orig-
inal shape of an SMA is regained by loading the SMA component
mechanically at a temperature between Af and Md, then shape
change effect is termed as Super elasticity. At a macroscopic
(structural) level, besides the ‘material TWSME’ as mentioned
above, an OWSMA actuator acts as a ‘mechanical TWSME’;
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Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 1336–1343
which is more reliable, powerful, and is used extensively in
many engineering areas. The difference of transition tempera-
tures between heating and cooling can be measured by Hystere-
sis (i.e. DT = Af Ms), which can be usually defined between the
temperatures at which the material transforms 50% to marten-
site on cooling and transforms 50% to austenite on heating. For a
specific technical application, selection of SMA material
depends on the hysteresis property and requires careful consid-
eration, for instance, within a large temperature range, a
requirement of large hysteresis is a must, to regain the prede-
fined shape (such as in pipe joining and deployable structures)
[8] and whereas for fast actuation applications, a small hystere-
sis is required (such as robotics and MEMSs).
1.1. Deformation mechanism
High stresses are applied to the material in almost all the man-
ufacturing processes. The complete process may consist of a com-
bination of many different loading types and for this reason, shear
and tension mechanisms are described below. The most common
loading that is applied to the material is tension; in this type of
loading, the material is loaded axially subsequently the stress gen-
erated is distributed uniformly inside that material. However, the
material moves in a fairly low range. It is to be noted, that in this
mode of loading, the normal stress comes out to be directly propor-
tional to the applied load. A dominant mechanism that occurs dur-
ing the machining of a component is the Shearing. Various studies
have been performed to research the effects caused by the shear
mechanism to superelasticity and shape memory effect of the
SMA materials. The cause of difficulty in studying the various
S. Kumari, Dinbandhu and K. Abhishek
Fig. 2. Maximum bandwidth versus specific energy and maximum strain for different classes of active materials [1].
Fig. 3. Stress–strain temperature of NiTi SMA [49].
effects caused due to shearing lies with the fact that a pure shear-
ing of a material is a difficult phenomenon [9]. In order to define
the effects of shear stresses in Ni-Ti based shape memory alloys,
Daly et al. [9] performed a shearing test in Nitinol samples. The
results showed that the shear deformation-induced was fairly
homogenous, thus hindering the formation of differentiating bands
of deformation. This behavior is found exactly opposite to the one
noticed during the tension of Nitinol. Huang et al. [10] observed
the similar in their test conducted on Nitinol samples, but the
method used for inducing shear stresses was different in this case,
Fig. 3. In this case as well the final distribution of the deformation
in the NiTi samples appeared homogenous.
It was also noted that an increase in the maximum value of the
critical shear strain was caused by a lower strain rate. A typical
shear stress-shear strain curve can be seen in Fig. 3. The results
showed that for higher values of temperature the critical stress is
increased, while with an increase in temperature, the superelastic
attitude of the material showed a progressively deteriorating
pattern.
2. Types of shape memory materials
SMAs have various disadvantages or limitations like constraints
on the extent of deformation, operating temperature constraint,
high manufacturing cost, and low bandwidth, this forced the
researchers to explore some other types of SMMs. SMMs can be
classified as Ni–Mn–Ga and Co-Ni–Ga. Out of these two Ni–Mn–
Ga can be categorized further as HTSMA and MSMA.
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Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 1336–1343
2.1. High-temperature shape memory alloys
Due to the increasing demands for high-temperature applica-
tions which is quite common in the engineering field, HTSMAs
are being focused extensively for the research purpose [11–13].
Practically, HTSMAs can be defined as those SMAs which operate
at temperatures above 100 °C. They can be categorized into three
groups and classification is based on their martensitic transforma-
tion ranges [11] (see Table 1). At room temperature, HTSMA pos-
sesses poor fatigue resistance and limited ductility which makes
it exceedingly difficult to process them, further this makes HTSMAs
expensive alloys to manufacture. Because of this reason, alternate
options such as cobalt and copper which have low cost, have been
researched.
2.2. Magnetic shape memory alloys
Another name given to these alloys is (FSMAs) i.e. Ferromag-
netic Shape Memory Alloys. These alloys can be actuated (up to
1 kHz) at higher frequencies. Actuation energy causes this actua-
tion which is transmitted by magnetic fields which is not
obstructed by the relatively slower mechanism of heat transfer
[16]. The strain rate possessed by piezoelectrics and magnetostric-
tive active elements has matched with the FSMA’s strain rate (see
Fig. 2, [11]). FSMA has the capacity of providing specific power
matched by the specific power provided by SMAs (see Fig. 2,
[11]). FSMA’s have maximum strain which is approximately 32
times greater than the magnetostrictive Terfenol-D (TbDyFe2)
[16]. As a result, FSMAs are found worthy of filling the technolog-
ical gaps between magnetostrictive materials and SMAs, and thus
it offers great benefits for valve applications and the motor [17]
requiring significant larger displacement at lower actuation force.
Yet, the design issues for MSMA and SMAs remain the same.
2.3. Shape memory material thin film
Advancement of fabrication technology leads to the evolution of
thin films SMM, to make micro-actuators. SMMs are made to
deposited directly onto the micromachined materials. NiTi thin
films have become the actuator of choice at the micro-scale level,
this is because of the rapid growth of (MEMSs) micro-electro-
mechanical systems. Another reason for becoming an actuator of
choice is its characteristics as mentioned above i.e. displacement
and higher actuation force. The flexibility of thin film of NiTi with
compact structure and multiple degrees of freedom expands the
usage of NiTi in consumer products applications, automotive, aero-
space, biomedical.
S. Kumari, Dinbandhu and K. Abhishek Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 1336–1343

Table 1
HTSMA groups and their properties [11,14,15].

Group Alloy Transformation temperature Thermal Strain Recovery Comments

composition range (°C) hysteresis (°C) (%) (%)
100–400 Ti-Ni-Pd 100–530 20–26 2.6– 90PE–100 High work output, most commercial ready and high material
(°C) 5.4 cost
Ti-Ni-Pt 110–1100 31–55 3–4 100 Reasonable SME, large hysteresis, and relatively low
Ni-Ti-Hf 100–400 60 3 100 materials cost
Ni-Ti-Zr 100–250 54 1.8 100 Low cost, poor to reasonable SME, and brittle in tension (Cu-
Cu-Al-Ni 100–400 21.5 3–5PE 80–90PE Al-Ni)
Cu-Al-Nb 100–400 59–170 5.5– – Good workability, large hysteresis, and high-temperature PE
Co-Al 121 7.6 90 (Co-Ni-Al)
2
Co-Ni-Al 100–300 15.5 5PE 100PE Low material cost, low hysteresis, and poor tensile ductility
Ni-Al – – –
Ni-Mn 100–670 20 3.9 90 Good ductility and workability but poor SME
Ni-Mn-Ga 100–400 85 10 70 Good ductility and SME but suspect to oxidation and contain
Zr-Cu 100–600 70 8 44 Uranium (U-Nb)
Ti-Nb 100–200 50 2–3 97–100
400–700 U-Nb 100–200 35 7 – Good ductility (Ti-Pd), but high materials cost (Ti-Pt)
(°C) Ti-Pd 100–510 40 10 88
Ti-AU 100–630 35 3 100
˃ 700 (°C) Ti-Pt-Ir 990–1184 66.5 10PE 40PE High yield strength.
Ta-Ru 900–1150 20 4 50 Stable microstructural, but poor oxidation resistance and
small hysteresis

Table 2
Comparing the properties of SMA and SMP [1,48].

S. No. Characteristics SMA SMP

1 Strain (%) Up to 8% Up to 400, and possibly above 800
2 Phase transformations Martensitic transformation Glass transition
3 Density (gcm3 ) 6–8 0.9–1.25
4 Transition breath (°C) 5–30 10–50
5 Deform stress (MPa) 50–200 1–3
6 Recovery stress (MPa) 130–300 1–3
7 Recovery speeds (s) < 1s < 1 s to several minutes
8 Young’s modulus (GPa) 83 (NiTi) 28–41 0.01–3ð0:1  10Þ  103
9 Thermal conductivity (W/m K) 18 (NiTi, Austenite) 0.15–0.30
10 Condition at low temperature Soft Hard
11 Condition at high temperature Hard Soft
12 Corrosion performance Excellent Excellent
13 Biocompatibility & degradability Not all biocompatible, not biodegradable High
14 Fabrication/processing condition >1000 °C, high pressure <200 °C, low pressure
15 Shape training Difficult Easy & quick
16 Cost Expensive Cheap

2.4. Shape memory polymers 3. Machining of SMA

Manufacturing of Shape memory polymers (SMPs) is relatively
easier. In comparison to SMAs, SMPs are considered a better alter-
native because of their lower cost approximately 10% cheaper.
Besides, SMPs are biodegradable, possess better efficiency, and
superior to SMAs in terms of mechanical properties (see Table 2).
When triggered by either by heating [18] or by cooling [19], mag-
netic field [20], electricity [21], light [22], or water [23,24] SMPs
can sustain two or more shape changes [25,26]. Table 2 summa-
rized some of the characteristics of SMPs.
SME has three working mechanisms in polymeric materials:
Dual-component mechanism (DCM), Partial-transition mechanism
(PTM), and Dual-state mechanism [18]. The almost 100% recovery
precision of SMPs, makes it suitable for engineering applications
which are high in demand [27]. Depending on the composition of
the material used, the SME of SMPs varies, i.e. the molecular
weight of the polymer-chain employed and weight fraction of
the switching segments. SMPs offer advantages because of their
biodegradable nature and hence SMPs offer more economical and
effective treatments.
The term machining means the removal of unwanted material
from the workpiece to give it the desired shape with the help of
a tool called a cutting tool. Unwanted material from the workpiece
is removed in form of chips. Chips are formed due to strain harden-
ing of the metal when a wedge-shaped tool makes a contact with
the workpiece provided there should be relative movement
between tool and workpiece. Such processes are usually referred
to as conventional machining processes which include turning,
milling and drilling, etc. Another very well-known process called
grinding, in which cutting takes place by abrasive action, carries
a lot of weightage in the conventional machining industry. Other
non-conventional machining operations like electro-discharge
machining, water jet machining, laser machining, and electro-
chemical machining that do not have physical contact between
the workpiece and cutting tool and that do not have a cutting tool
as possessed by the conventional processes, such processes utilize
chemical or thermal energy for machining. Due to work hardening
or strain hardening, it is quite a difficult task to achieve quality and
cost goals. One of the most common issues that need to be dealt

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S. Kumari, Dinbandhu and K. Abhishek
with, while machining using non-conventional methods is of small
material removal rates besides high tool wear. Therefore, consider-
ing the importance of machining in the Engineering world, the fol-
lowing paragraphs describe the conventional and non-
conventional machining processes which SMAs can be subjected
to. Aspects associated with the machining process like cutting
tools, feed, and cutting conditions are considered, investigated
and thus results are presented.
3.1. Conventional machining
Considering the importance and wide variety of applications of
Nitinol, conventional machining of SMAs is mainly conducted on
NiTi or alloys of NiTi, this causes the study to be focused mainly
on these materials. To gain an insight into the machinability char-
acteristics of Nickel and Titanium alloys one needs to have a very
sound knowledge of the phenomena that take place during
machining i.e. machining of high strength alloys at elevated tem-
peratures, which results in a rise in temperatures at the tool-chip
interface, workpiece distortions, rapid tool wear and high dynamic
loads [12]. Apart from Titanium alloys, Nickel based alloys and
Super-alloys, are also considered alloys which are hard to machine
and possess very high strength. Various cutting tools like uncoated
and coated cemented carbide, ceramic inserts, and cubic boron
nitride were investigated. The research’s summarized as extensive
tool wear was found in the case of uncoated cemented carbide,
while reduced wear was found in the case of coated cemented car-
bide tools. Regardless of the cutting parameters, machining of NiTi
alloys was not possible by ceramic cutting tools because of its inca-
pability to do so. It was also observed that the tool wear was higher
in CBN as compare to coated cemented carbide tools. Moreover,
CBN tools are not preferable because of its cost. In contrast to what
is recommended by the relevant literature, it was observed that
coated cemented carbide tools can be used to machine NiTi that
too at higher cutting speeds. Improvement in the surface finish is
observed at cutting speed of 110 m/min and tool wear was
reduced. Formation of burrs and the effects of cutting fluids on chip
breaking and was discussed by Weinert and Petzoldt [28]. Guo
et al. [29] studied the milling of a NiTi alloy which has got its usage
in the field of biomedical. (50.8 at. % Ni–49.2 at% Ti). Split-
Hopkinson pressure bar compression tests were conducted by
these researchers to evaluate the mechanical properties of the
material. It was observed from the test that in comparison to Ti
or Ni-based superalloys, NiTi is more difficult to be machined
because of the high strength possessed by the material under static
and dynamic loading conditions.
3.2. Non-conventional machining
It is also known as the Unconventional machining process, in
this category of machining processes, machining takes place with-
out physical contact between the tool and the workpiece. Thus, in
these processes tool wear is minimized drastically, or in some
cases, it is diminished. Non-conventional processes are being used
in machining SMA, where components to be machined have very
small dimensions. Most of the non-conventional machining pro-
cesses are carried out by (EDM) electro-discharge machining or
(WEDM) wire electro-discharge machining of NiTi SMAs. The
machining of NiTi SMAs by the Laser machining process is an
encouraging machining process. Laser machining leaves consider-
ably much lower heat-affected zones on the workpiece in contrast
to the EDM process which has large heat-affected zones. For the
production of micro-devices which are to be made by machining
of NiTi alloys, Fe MP laser is used [30]. A minor drawback of this
laser is the significant development of the recast layer due to the
process being thermal and the high ablation rates cause due to
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Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 1336–1343
the ultrashort laser pulses, though, it performs better than other
lasers. Huang, Zheng, and Lim [31] investigated the femtosecond
laser machinability of NiTi. In comparison to Nd: YAG laser
machining, it was found that the heat-affected layer and a re-
deposition layer were quite thinner when machining was carried
out by femtosecond laser. Biffi and Tuissi investigated the laser
drilling of ferromagnetic [32] and they summarized that the laser
machining of micro-features can be carried out with limited
restriction.
4. Making of shape memory alloys
Various ways of producing shape memory alloys have been dis-
cussed as follows:
4.1. Melting
Vacuum melting is one of the most significant methods by
which SMA can be produced. Not only vacuum melting but also
other techniques like which can be adopted to produce SMA are
plasma melting and electron beam melting. Electromagnetic
induction is the principle on which Vacuum induction melting
works, in this process, electrical eddy currents are induced in the
metallic charges and the graphite crucible. Melt is stirred and
mixed by the adoption of electrodynamic force. Electro graphite
crucible is used in SMA to achieve low carbon concentrations
[33]. A low viscosity electron beam comes out from a hollow
plasma cathode in the plasma melting method. The chief benefit
offered by this method is the drastic reduction in the loss of the
alloy element.
4.2. Heat treating
Optimized properties of NiTi samples can be achieved by cold
working of the samples, before heat treatment. For superelastic
nitinol, the heat treatment process is carried out at 500 °C temper-
ature, in the case of shape memory alloys, the range of temperature
at which heat treatment is carried out is between 350 °C and
450 °C. The addition of Nickel at a composition of 55.5(wt. %)
enhances its unique properties like pseudoelasticity and SME.
Enhancement in its unique properties at high temperatures can
be achieved by solution treatment. Transformation temperature
is increased by varying the composition of the matrix.
4.3. Powder metallurgy
An efficient way of producing net shape components of NiTi
alloys is Powder Metallurgy. Grain refinement is targeted to
enhance the fatigue properties of copper-based shape memory
alloys. Two types of powder metallurgy techniques which are in
practice mostly for the preparation of NiTi alloys are alloy powder
sintering and raw metal powder sintering. For producing NiTi alloy,
various powder metallurgy techniques have been developed where
both pre-alloyed powders and elemental powders are used as ini-
tial materials by hot isostatic pressing (HIP), pulverization [34],
hydrating. Amongst all the sintering techniques, the HIP is the
most commonly practiced in which in evacuated powder is filled,
and the pressure to the powder is applied by the gas-tight welded
cans. Samples made by this method have advantages of high
homogeneity and theoretical density.
4.4. Thermal spray
To produce components like thin-walled mill products, NiTi
tubes, NiTi foils, and other 3D shapes, the thermal spray technique
S. Kumari, Dinbandhu and K. Abhishek Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 1336–1343

is used predominantly. The thermal spray process is carried out in

two ways, one is low-pressure wire arc spraying and another way
of carrying out the thermal spray method is the vacuum plasma
spraying technique. NiTi alloys which are difficult and expensive
to manufacture are generally made by conventional methods.
Low-pressure thermal spraying method is employed to reduce pro-
duction cost and production lead time for semi-finished NiTi foils,
technology is generally employed. To improve NiTi foils’
microstructure hot rolling is performed [34].

5. Properties of SMA

Various significant properties of shape memory alloys have

Fig. 5. SMA pseudoelastic loading cycle [49].
been discussed as follows:

5.1. Shape memory effect

The molecular structure of SMA is twinned during the marten-

sitic phase transformation. The shape and size of the undeformed
martensite phase resemble with the cubic austenitic phase when
seen on a macroscopic scale, Variables such as MS, Mf, AS, Af are
used to characterize the starting and finishing temperature of the
parent austenitic phase and daughter martensitic phase. MS and
Mf are the martensite start and martensite finish temperature
respectively upon cooling, while AS and Af are the austenite start
and finish temperatures respectively during heating. When SMA
temperature reaches below Mf, the Shape memory effect (SME) is
observed and SMA will be recovered to its original shape when
the specimen is heated above Af. No transformation strains are
induced in one-way SME during cooling, while transformation
strains are persuaded during cooling or heating of SMA in two - Fig. 6. Phase diagram and two possible pseudoelastic loading paths [49].
way SME [35]. Two-way SME is a developed characteristic and
not an essential one (Fig. 4).
formation (RT) from martensite to austenite occurs that causes
5.2. Pseudo elasticity inelastic strains to recover. Regaining of thermoelastic strains iden-
tifies the final element of the loading path (e-a); which upon com-
When the component is unloaded at a temperature above Af, pletion of the path, leads to zero macroscopic strains. In a
Pseudo elasticity of SMA shows stress-induced strain recovery. hysteresis, this transformation process is concluded (Figs. 5 and 6).
Where de-twinned martensite is found stable which is at zero
stress state, form there super elastic thermomechanical loading
path starts. The quasi-static process generates latent heat which 5.3. Damping properties
is dissipated during the phase transformation. The transformation
occurred from austenite to martensite at critical stress levels dur- The property which predominantly deals with the dissolution of
ing loading at a temperature above Mf and that stress is called mechanical energy into heat. Damping property is considered as
transformation stress (a-b). On path (b-c), this phase transforma- the vital property for all the engineering materials to be used in
tion is observed. Elastic strains seem to be developed during the a specified application. In comparison to the remaining materials,
thermoelastic critical stress level. On further increment of load, SMA possesses a remarkably high damping capacity. Many irre-
any more phase transformation is not produced by de- twinned versible events e.g. dislocation movements and production defects
martensite region (c-d), though re-orientation of martensite twins
may occur during multi-axial loading. At a point, (d) Reverse trans-

Fig. 7. Elastic modulus vs. temperature for a frequency of 13 Hz and strain

Fig. 4. Temperature Hysteresis in SMA [36]. amplitude of 104 [50].

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S. Kumari, Dinbandhu and K. Abhishek
Fig. 8. Damping factor Vs temperature for a frequency of 13 Hz strain amplitude of
104 [50].
etc will occur. One of the energy dissipations observed during
pseudoelastic characteristics is Hysteresis. During the transforma-
tion cycle of isotropic materials, the ratio of dissolute energy to the
total energy obtained will be developed. This ratio depends on
amplitude, temperature, and excitation frequency (Figs. 7 and 8).
6. Applications of SMA
SMA has varieties of applications. It has a lead role to play in the
Automobile industries. It is widely used in electric generators
which makes use of exhaust heat to generate electricity. SMA has
got varieties of uses such as automatic valves, mini actuators, sen-
sors, actuators, SMA is also used for noise reduction as in Solenoids.
It has its great importance where application demands of increas-
ing efficiency by reducing weight. SMA finds its applications in
biomedical fields, slow response times, low efficiency, small strain
output, large hysteresis. One of the SMA applications is Intelligent
Reinforced Concrete (IRC) which uses wires embedded with the
concrete. SMA in such applications can sense initially developed
cracks and helps in reducing large scale sized cracks. Because of
the biocompatibility property possesses by SMA, it is widely used
in endodontic files and orthodontic devices. SMA can have a rem-
edy in case of broken bones too.
6.1. Automotive applications
There is a surge in demand for vehicles offering more comfort
and safer than before besides better performance which is a must,
all this has become reality due to increases in the usage of sensors
and actuators, thus the scope of SMA has widened. As the technol-
ogy in the Automotive sector is emerging SMA actuators become
the alternative to electromagnetic actuators [37–39]. Many com-
ponents function as active thermal actuators (e.g. carburetion
and engine lubrication, engine temperature control, and power
train clutches) [38,40], and as linear actuators. Besides this, SMA
has applications in other areas too, such as aesthetics and
aerodynamics this is due to the SMAs’ attractive morphing capabil-
ity (active and adaptive structures).
6.2. Aerospace applications
Aerospace is a critical application field and the unique proper-
ties of SMA draw its inclination towards this field, components in
an aerospace application are subjected to geometric space con-
straints and high dynamic loads. A few examples of such applica-
tions are structural connectors, vibration-dampers, actuators
[1,41], release or deployment mechanisms, sealers, the pathfinder
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Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 1336–1343
application [42,43]. Another interesting use of SMA is VGC which
is a device known as a variable geometry chevron that was being
developed by Boeing with SMA actuators and the same has been
installed on a GE90-115B jet engine used in passenger aircraft.
By maximizing the chevron deflection this device proved its worth
in reducing noise during take-off, and by minimizing the chevron
deflection during the remainder of the flight [44,45] it increased
its cruise efficiency.
6.3. Robotic applications
Sreekumar et al. [46] explained the applications of SMAs as
micro-actuators in a diversifying range of commercial robotic sys-
tems. Biologically inspired SMA robotic applications (i.e. biome-
chanics) have a wide variety of applications in biomedical areas.
Not only in the biomedical field but also other fields, SMA has been
used extensively. The foremost challenges in the robotics domain
areas: to enhance the brainpower of the integrated system (i.e.
autonomous, reliable, faster, and smaller) and increment in the
extent of miniaturization and functioning of the hardware compo-
nents. However, out of the several flaws, some of these have been
resolved by selecting control techniques, feedback sensors, and
suitable modeling techniques. For example, the necessity of addi-
tional sensors can be eliminated with the resistance feedback con-
trol which is ideal for micro-robots.
6.4. Biomedical applications
Buehler et al. in 1962 discovered SME in nitinol, they studied
and suggested to use SMA based material for dentistry implants.
A few years later in 1971, a researcher called Andreasen introduced
the first NiTi alloy based super elastic braces. It is introduced in
minimally invasive surgery (MIS) [47] and later on, SMA-made
components made a significant contribution to the biomedical
domain. After the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), biomedical applications of SMA are developed and hence
introduced into the market in September 1989, this became
possible.
7. Conclusions
The review yields the following conclusions:
i. The exquisite properties of shape memory alloys make them
a well suitable material for several engineering applications
in aerospace, automobile, and biomedical fields. Within SMA
based communities, the development of a more effective and
efficient knowledge-sharing platform.
ii. Machining plays a significant role in the end-user usages and
implementation of shape memory alloys in the aforemen-
tioned application fields. With the advancement in fabrica-
tion technologies and with the development of composites
and hybrid SMMs, SMAs can be made more durable and
stable which increases its scope for the application in a
broad range of industries.
iii. There is a need of developing fresh design guidelines and
approaches for the creation of novel shape memory alloys
for their widespread applications in science and technology.
iv. This work has a future scope of developing computational
models and their optimization for a robust output. An explo-
ration of thermal analysis, chemical analysis, and wear anal-
ysis is also needed for understanding the SMA’s widespread
applications.
S. Kumari, Dinbandhu and K. Abhishek
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Soni Kumari: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology,
Resources, Supervision, Writing-original draft. Din bandhu: Visua-
lization, Resources. Kumar Abhishek: Conceptualization, Formal
analysis, Supervision.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
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cast NiTi shape memory alloy under compression, Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc.
China 22 (1) (2012) 90–96, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1003-6326(11)61145-X.