Abstract: The influence of grain size and ordering degree of the parent phase on the shape memory re- covery in a Cu-25.62Zn-3.97Al-0.0018B(wt-%)memory alloy is investigated.A mathematical relationship is set up between the recovery ratio and ordering degree,probabili- ty of atoms at their ordered sites,grain size,the thickness of the grain boundary affected re- gions,the stress during deformation,as well as the critical shear stress.Shape memory effect reaches a maximum with varying grain size and increases linearly with increasing ordering parameter,which agrees well with experimental results.

Key words: CuZnAl alloy, ordering degree, grain size, shape memory effect