Mechanical characterization of shape memory alloy thin films through membrane deflection experiments

This study examines the tensile properties of shape memory alloys (SMAs) acquired through a combination of uniaxial tensile tests, membrane deflection experiments (MDE), and finite element analysis (FEA). Tensile tests and MDE on a -thick Ni 53.7 Ti 46.3 film showed close agreement in the resulting stress–strain curves. It was demonstrated that minimizing the bending stiffness of the membranes improves measurement accuracy. FEA further indicated that both material properties prior to and after martensitic transformation can be measured with reasonable accuracy. Residual stresses were also reliably captured, and the influence of martensitic transformation on local stress distribution was analyzed. Overall, these findings demonstrate that MDE provides a robust approach for evaluating the tensile properties of ductile, brittle, and SMA thin films, and the method is anticipated to expedite the rapid mechanical characterization of alloy thin films in future studies.