Shape memory effect and pseudoelasticity behavior in tetragonal zirconia polycrystals: A phase field study

Martensitic tetragonal-to-monoclinic transformation in zirconia is a "double-edged sword", enabling transformation toughening or shape memory effects in favorable cases, but also cracks and phase degradation in undesirable scenarios. In stressed polycrystals, the transformation can burst from grain to grain, enabling stress field shielding and toughening in an autocatalysis fashion. This transformation strain can be recovered by an adequate thermal cycle at low temperatures (when monoclinic is stable) to provide a shape memory effect, or by unloading at higher temperatures (when tetragonal is stable) to provide pseudoelasticity. We capture the details of these processes by mining the associated microstructural evolutions through the phase field method. The model is both stress and temperature dependent, and incorporates inhomogeneous and anisotropic elasticity. Results of simulations show an ability to capture the effects of both forward (T → M) and reverse (M → T) transformation under certain boundary conditions.