What is Nitinol shape memory alloy? How was it discovered?
Mar 25, 2023
1. What is a nickel-titanium shape memory alloy?
Shape memory alloy is an alloy that can automatically return its own plastic deformation to its original shape at a specific temperature. This is its unique and distinctive shape memory function. In addition to this property, it has excellent characteristics such as super elasticity and corrosion resistance as well as wear resistance. The expansion and contraction rate is over 20%. The fatigue life is 120 times, and the damping characteristics are more than 10 times higher than ordinary springs; therefore, it is used by engineering and medicine, and it is used as a very excellent functional material. The nickel-titanium shape memory alloy wire produced by our company can be used in cell phone antennas, dental arch wire, eyeglass legs, women's bras and birth control rings, instrumentation, etc. It is made with our high-quality Nitinol Shape memory alloy wire.
2. How was it discovered?
In 1963, the U.S. Navy Ordnance Research Laboratory needed some nickel-titanium alloy wire for an experiment, and the alloy wire they received back was all bent and curved. For convenience of use, these curved wires were straightened one by one and then used.
In the follow-up test, a strange phenomenon appeared: when the temperature rose to a certain value, these have been pulled straight alloy wire, suddenly and magically quickly back to the original curved shape, and the original shape is not different. Repeatedly test, each time the results are identical, the straightened alloy wire as long as it is a certain temperature, it will immediately return to the original kind of curved shape. In the past "froze" unconscious when people changed their shape, and when the temperature rises to a certain value, they suddenly "woke up", and "memory" their original appearance, so they will be changed. When the temperature rises to a certain value, they suddenly "wake up" and "remember" their original appearance, so they regain their "original face" regardless of everything.
So we found that the crystal structure of Ni-Ti alloy above 40℃ and below 40℃is different, but when the temperature changes above or below 40℃, the alloy will shrink or expand, making its form change. Here, 40℃is the "metastable temperature" of nickel-titanium memory alloy. Each alloy has its own metastable temperature.
Our company mainly produces nickel-titanium memory alloys wire, and other Niti products, including plates, rods, tubes, wires, coils, springs, nickel-titanium machined parts, and other machined parts, if you are interested in nickel-titanium products, you can contact us, and we will provide a satisfactory answer and high quality and high-performance nickel-titanium products.
