Change in Electrical Resistance of SMA (NiTi) Wires during Cyclic Stretching

In this article, the use of Nickel Titanium (NiTi) alloy as a sensor is examined. A cyclic stretching test, that has various elongations (0.5 and 1%), is administered to NiTi wires with various diameters and lengths. It is assumed that the elongation enables an observation of the change in electrical resistance of the NiTi wires, due to martensite reorientation. During the test, the stretching force, the displacement, and the electrical resistance of the NiTi wires are measured. Following the test, the resistance of all the tested samples differed compared to the starting position. Conducted research indicates that NiTi wires are very sensitive to resistance change when they are deformed. A large difference in NiTi electrical resistance was visible in all samples during the first stretching cycle. For longer wires, with a smaller diameter, resistance change was visible during almost all of the stretching cycles. However, the observed changes were very small. Based on the obtained results, it can be justifiably stated that NiTi wires could be used to build deformation sensors, which operate both online and offline. Moreover, NiTi wires with a small diameter could be used to create cyclic loading sensors. Such sensors can be used in self-sensing applications or in structural health monitoring.