Novel method to analyse tensile properties of ultra-fine NiTi wires with a visual extensometer

The current work proposes a novel method to accurately measure tensile properties of ultra-fine diameter NiTi wires (100µm diameter). This method involved the use of a visual extensometer to eliminate artefacts experienced when using a contact extensometer or crosshead motion to measure strain. Experimental results showed the proposed method to be a more reliable method for collecting accurate data and properly characterizing the pseudoelastic properties of thin NiTi wires in tension.