Thermodynamic and relaxation-based modeling of the interaction between martensitic phase transformations and plasticity

This paper focuses on the issue plasticity within the framework of a micromechanical model for single-crystal shape-memory alloys. As a first step towards a complete micromechanical formulation of such models, we work with classical J₂-von Mises-type plasticity for simplicity. The modeling of martensitic phase transitions is based on the concept of energy relaxation (quasiconvexification) in connection with evolution equations derived from inelastic potentials. Crystallographic considerations lead to the derivation of Bain strains characterizing the transformation kinematics. The model is derived for arbitrary numbers of martensite variants and thus can be applied to any shape-memory material such as CuAlNi or NiTi. The phase transition model captures effects like tension/compression asymmetry and transformation induced anisotropy. Additionally, attention is focused on the interaction between phase transformations and plasticity in terms of the inheritance of plastic strain. The effect of such interaction is demonstrated by elementary numerical studies.