Investigation on Ce Addition on Microstructure and Martensitic Transformation of a Ti51Ni49 Shape Memory Alloy

The effect of rare earth element Ce addition on the microstructure and martensitic transformation behavior of Ti51Ni49 shape memory alloy was investigated by scanning electronic microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results show that the microstructure of TiNiCe ternary alloy consists of Ti2Ni phase, CeNi phase and the matrix. One-step martensitic transformation is observed in quenched TiNiCe ternary alloys, which is the same as that in quenched TiNi binary alloys. The martensitic transformation temperatures of Ti-rich TiNi alloy hardly increase with Ce addition.