Potential of superelastic Cu-Al-Mn alloy bars for seismic applications

We present the results of the quasi-static cyclic tensile tests of Cu–Al–Mn shape memory alloy (SMA) bars of 4 and 8 mm diameters to examine their superelasticity and other mechanical properties closely related to seismic applications. The present Cu–Al–Mn SMA bars have achieved the recovery strains of over 8% and the fracture strains of over 17%. Low-cycle fatigue was observed in neither of the bars. The mechanical properties obtained from the test, along with the lower material cost and higher machinability than Ni–Ti SMAs, demonstrate the high potential of the present Cu–Al–Mn SMA bars to be used in seismic applications. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.