A study of the two-way shape memory effect in Cu–Zn–Al alloys by the thermomechanical cycling method

We have examined the two-way shape memory effect (TWME) in Cu–Zn–Al alloys with a novel thermomechanical cycling method: bending the alloy strips around a cylinder mould and by using a constrained heating/cooling technique. The strength of TWME was affected by the number of training cycles and by the constrained heating temperature. We found that the presence of the β-phase is a crucial factor in generating TWME. After the thermomechanical cycling treatment, we observed the new martensite in addition to the existing martensite in Cu–Zn–Al alloys.