Effect of chemical ordering annealing on martensitic transformation and superelasticity in polycrystalline Ni-Mn-Ga microwires

Polycrystalline Ni-Mn-Ga microwires of diameter 30-80 μm were prepared by melt-extraction technique on a large scale. The rapidly solidified microwires exhibit a fairly high ductility and excellent shape memory property. Here, with the aim to reduce the defect density, internal stress and compositional inhomogeneity in the as-extracted microwires, a stepwise chemical ordering annealing heat treatment was carried out and the effect of annealing on martensitic transformation, magnetic properties and superelastic behavior were investigated. The results indicate that annealing increase the transformation temperature and decrease the transformation hysteresis. These are related to composition homogenization, increase of atomic ordering and decrease in internal stress and defects. During mechanical tests, the stress-induced martensite (SIM) formation took place at a much lower stress after annealing treatment. The annealed microwires also demonstrate a lower superelastic hysteresis and a higher recovery rate compared to the as-extracted microwires. The temperature dependence of SIM stress is weaker after annealing, which is related to the enthalpy change (ΔH) and phase transformation temperature change according to the Clausius-Clapeyron relation.