  Employing the Ginzburg-Landau phase-field theory, a new coupled dynamic
thermo-mechanical 3D model has been proposed for modeling the
cubic-to-tetragonal martensitic transformations in shape memory alloy (SMA)
nanostructures. The stress-induced phase transformations and thermo-mechanical
behavior of nanostructured SMAs have been investigated. The mechanical and
thermal hysteresis phenomena, local non-uniform phase transformations and
corresponding non-uniform temperature and deformations distributions are
captured successfully using the developed model. The predicted microstructure
evolution qualitatively matches with the experimental observations. The
developed coupled dynamic model has provided a better understanding of
underlying martensitic transformation mechanisms in SMAs, as well as their
effect on the thermo-mechanical behavior of nanostructures.
