THERMODYNAMICS OF PSEUDOELASTICITY - AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH

The phenomenon of pseudo-elasticity is connected with a phase transiti on. Its description requires a non-convex free energy and a non-monoto ne load-deformation curve. Realistic functions like that are too compl icated to permit the analytic calculation of phase equilibria and the evaluation of stability properties of a phase mixture. One has to reso rt to graphical methods, see [1], or to numerical calculations. Howeve r, here we approximate the non-convex free energy by a train of two in tersecting parabolae. This simplification enables us to carry out all calculation explicitly and it seems to describe - at least qualitative ly - most phenomena observed in pseudoelasticity.