Shape Memory Alloys Behaviour: A Review

Abstract Shape memory alloys are used in a variety of fields, such as medical or aeronautical. Other fields of knowledge have been researching these materials, attracted by their capacity to dissipate energy through high-strain hysteretic cycles without significant residual strains. Because of these interesting properties for seismic protection, an example of the possible beneficiaries of these materials are civil engineering structures. This paper reports a bibliographic review on the characteristics and uniaxial macroscale constitutive models for shape memory alloys, of interest for a significant number of applications, most often based on wires and bars. The constitutive model assessment focuses on mechanical and kinetic laws, as well as on the energy balance law, of relevance for dynamic loadings. Some characteristics of these materials are still not sufficiently well known, especially those related to ageing. With regard to behaviour prediction, the most frequently used uniaxial constitutive models result in similar responses.