Elastocaloric effect associated with the martensitic transition in shape-memory alloys

TL;DR

This study investigates the elastocaloric effect near the martensitic transition in Cu-Zn-Al shape-memory alloys, demonstrating consistent entropy changes regardless of the transition induction method and discussing potential applications in mechanical refrigeration.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence of the elastocaloric effect near the martensitic transition and confirms entropy change consistency across different measurement techniques.

Findings

Entropy change is consistent across strain and stress measurements.

Transition trajectories differ significantly between methods.

Results align with Clausius-Clapeyron equation estimations.

Abstract

The elastocaloric effect in the vicinity of the martensitic transition of a Cu-Zn-Al has been studied by inducing the transition by strain or stress measurements. While transition trajectories show significant differences, the entropy change associated with the whole transformation (\DeltaSt) is coincident in both kind of experiments since entropy production is small compared to \DeltaSt. The values agree with estimations based on the Clausius- Clapeyron equation. The possibility of using these materials for mechanical refrigeration is also discussed.