Effect of Al alloying on the martensitic temperature in Ti-Ta shape memory alloys

Ti-Ta-based alloys are promising candidates as high temperature shape memory alloys (HTSMAs) for actuators and superelastic applications. The shape memory mechanism involves a martensitic transformation between the low-temperature α'' phase (orthorhombic) and the high-temperature β phase (body-centered cubic). In order to prevent the degradation of the shape memory effect, Ti-Ta needs to be alloyed with further elements. However, this often reduces the martensitic temperature M_s, which is usually strongly composition dependent. The aim of this work is to analyze how the addition of a third element to Ti-Ta alloys affects M_s by means of electronic structure calculations. In particular, it will be investigated how alloying Al to Ti-Ta alters the relative stability of the α'' and β phases. This understanding will help to identify new alloy compositions featuring both a stable shape memory effect and elevated transformation temperatures.