A Review of TiNiPdCu Alloy System for High Temperature Shape Memory Applications

High temperature shape memory alloys (HTSMAs) are important smart materials and possess a significant potential to improve many engineering systems. Many TiNi-based high temperature ternary alloy systems have been reported in literature including TiNiPd, TiNiPt, TiNiZr, TiNiAu, TiNiHf, etc. Some quaternary additions of certain elements in the above systems have been successful to further improve many important shape memory and mechanical properties. The success criteria for an HTSMA become strict in terms of its cyclic stability, maximum recoverable strain, creep resistance, and corrosion resistance at high temperatures. TiNiPdCu alloy system has been recently proposed as a promising HTSMA. Unique nanoscaled precipitates formed in TiNiPdCu-based HTSMAs are found to be stable at temperatures above 773 K, while keeping the benefits of ease of fabrication. It is expected that this alloy system possesses significant potential especially for the high temperature shape memory applications. Till now many research reports have been published on this alloy system. In the present work, a comprehensive review of the TiNiPdCu system is presented in terms of thermomechanical behavior, nanoscale precipitation mechanism, microstructural features, high temperature shape memory and mechanical properties, and the important parameters to control the high temperature performance of these alloys.