Ambient-temperature high damping capacity in TiPd-based martensitic alloys

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) have attracted considerable attention for their high damping capacities. Here we investigate the damping behavior of Ti₅₀(Pd_50−xD_x) SMAs (D=Fe, Co, Mn, V) by dynamic mechanical analysis. We find that these alloys show remarkably similar damping behavior. There exists a sharp damping peak associated with the B2–B19 martensitic transformation and a high damping plateau (Q⁻¹~0.02–0.05) over a wide ambient-temperature range (220–420 K) due to the hysteretic twin boundary motion. After doping hydrogen into the above alloys, a new relaxation-type damping peak appears in the martensite phase over 270–360 K. Such a peak is considered to originate from the interaction of hydrogen atoms with twin boundaries and the corresponding damping capacity (Q⁻¹~0.05–0.09) is enhanced by roughly twice that of the damping plateau for each alloy. Moreover, the relaxation peaks are at higher temperatures for the TiPd-based alloys (270–370 K) than for the TiNi-based alloys (190–260 K). We discuss the influence of hydrogen diffusion, mobility of twin boundaries and hydrogen–twin boundary interaction on the temperature range of the relaxation peak. Our results suggest that a martensite, with appropriate values for twinning shear and hydrogen doping level, provides a route towards developing high damping SMAs for applications in desired temperature ranges