The hot deformation behavior and processing maps of the casting NiTi alloy were studied at the deformation temperature of 650-1050 °C and the strain rate of 5 × 10-3-1 s-1 by Gleeble-3800 thermal simulating tester. The variation of the strain rate sensitivity exponent m and the activation energy Q under different deformation conditions (T = 650-1050 °C, ε˙ = 0.005-1 s-1) were obtained. The formability of the NiTi alloy was the best from 800 °C to 950 °C. The constitutive equation of the casting NiTi alloy was constructed by the Arrhenius model. The processing map of the casting NiTi alloy was plotted according to the dynamic material model (DMM) based on the Prasad instability criterion. The optimal processing areas were at 800-950 °C and 0.005-0.05 s-1. The microstructure of the casting NiTi alloy was analyzed by TEM, SEM and EBSD. The softening mechanisms of the casting NiTi alloy were mainly dynamic recrystallization of the Ti2Ni phase and the nucleation and growth of fine martensite.
Keywords: activation energy; casting NiTi alloy; constitutive equation; microstructure; processing map; strain rate sensitivity exponent.