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The influence of boron microalloying on the microstructural and mechanical properties of Ni-Mn-Sn-Gd shape memory alloy

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Abstract

This study systematically investigates the microstructure, martensitic phase transformation, crystal structure, and mechanical properties of (Ni43Mn47Sn9Gd1)100−xBx (x = 0, 0.8, 1.5 and 3 at%) shape memory alloys. Experimental results reveal that these alloys consist of a matrix phase and precipitated phases. The introduction of Gd elements leads to the formation of milky-white particles dispersed along grain boundaries, with the composition identified as GdNiSn. When the B element content reaches 1.5 at%, bright-white particles form and are uniformly distributed within the matrix. Their concentration increases with higher levels of B doping, and they are characterized as Mn2B. Simultaneously, the initially present Gd-rich milky-white particles distributed along grain boundaries, exhibit a diminishing trend with increasing B doping. B doping elevates the alloy’s phase transition temperature, and the compressive strength of the alloy approximately follows a linear trend with increasing B content. At a B doping level of 3%, the annealed alloy demonstrates a compressive strength of up to 1313 MPa with a compressive fracture strain of 11.6%, marking a 110% improvement. For the as-cast alloy, a compressive strength of 1652 MPa is achieved, accompanied by a compressive fracture strain of 12.3%, representing a 130% enhancement. Transmission electron microscopy reveals pronounced twinning features on the alloy surface, resulting in the formation of numerous fine lines in the as-cast state, that are magnified into voids after heat treatment. This phenomenon is detrimental to the alloy’s mechanical performance; hence, the as-cast compressive strength is favored over the annealed state.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation of China(NO.51401122).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China

    Yangrui Xu, Xiangyang Xin, Li Gao, Xin Guo, Shaohui Hu & Zhenhua Chu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710072, China

    Yan Feng

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Contributions

XX was involved in methodology, investigation, data curation, writing—original draft, and writing— reviewing and editing. XY was involved in supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition. LG was involved in supervision, conceptualization, resources, and writing—reviewing and editing. YF was involved in data curation, validation, and methodology. HW was involved in data curation, methodology, and formal analysis. XG was involved in supervision and formal analysis. HZ was involved in validation and investigation.

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Correspondence to Li Gao.

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Xu, Y., Xin, X., Gao, L. et al. The influence of boron microalloying on the microstructural and mechanical properties of Ni-Mn-Sn-Gd shape memory alloy. Appl. Phys. A 130, 526 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-024-07686-2

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