Abstract: The basic martensitic transformation (MT) properties of Ru50Ta50 alloy, i.e. MT temperature (MTT), temperature hysteresis (ΔT), and MT heat (ΔH) were investigated in this paper. The effects of heat treatment and thermal cycling on MT behavior of Ru50Ta50 alloy, the deformation and microstructure characteristics of Ru50Ta50 alloy were also studied for its engineering application as high temperature actuator/sensor materials by means of differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, optical microscope, and hardness test. The results showed that a two-stage reversible MT takes place in Ru50Ta50 alloy. The two-stage MT starting temperatures (MS1 , MS2 ) and the temperature hysteresis (ΔT1, ΔT2) are 1047, 784 and 11, 14℃, respectively. No significant effect of aging treatment and thermal cycling on MTT and ΔT of Ru50Ta50 alloy were observed, but ΔH decreases slowly with increasing thermal cycles. The hardness and brittleness of Ru50Ta50 alloy are high. The deformation mode of RuTa alloys is twinning.

Key words: RuTa alloy, Shape memory alloy, Martensitic transformation, Heat treatment, Thermal cycle