Characteristics of Fe-28Mn-6Si-5Cr shape memory alloy produced by centrifugal casting

Recent application of ferrous shape memory alloys, particularly Fe-Mn-Si alloys as pipe joints used for a tunnel driving technique in the field of civil engineering, requires efficient production of alloy pipes. Centrifugal casting is one of the efficient manufacturing techniques which can produce suitable sizes of pipes of approximately 4 to 14 inches in outside diameter. The mechanical properties of the centrifugally cast Fe-Mn-Si shape memory alloy were investigated to have 700 MPa in tensile strength and shape recovery of approximately 3% of the initial deformation. The shape recovery achieved by the centrifugally cast materials proved to be comparable to that of the rolled materials. The TEM microstructure of the centrifugally cast materials deformed necessarily in the process of shape recovery reveals random distribution of Ε (hcp) bands containing many dislocations inside, whereas the structure of the rolled materials shows Ε phases containing fewer dislocations.