The Investigation of SME in a Cu-Al-Ni HTSMA

Abstract

When some alloys, called shape memory alloys (SMAs), are exposed to different physical external factors such as heat, pressure, magnetic field or their different combinations, they can give different behavioral responses and can be forced into microstructural changes called martensitic phase transformations in which only their crystal structures change, while the neighborhoods of the atoms remain constant. Due to their controllable macroscopic shape change abilities which arise from those transformations, both commercial uses and further explorative investigations of these alloys are continuing without slowing down. In this work, a Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloy with a new chemical composition was fabricated by arc melting method. In order to dig up its prospective characteristic shape memory effect (SME) property, the alloy was investigated by thermal and structural analysis measurements. The differential thermal analysis measurements of the sample were made at different heating/cooling rates. The diffraction planes of the martensite structures in the alloy sample were determined by XRD at room temperature. The XRD results supported with optical micrograph observations. In conclusion, this chemically new composed CuANi alloy may be useful in various thermomechanical SMA applications.