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Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 10:10 AM
MEM6.4

The Effect of Processing on the Microstructure, Properties, and Shape Memory Behavior of a NiTi-20Pt Alloy

R. Noebe, S. Draper, G. Bigelow, B. Lerch, N. Penney, S. Padula II, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH; J. Brown, Acree Technologies Incorporated, Concord, CA

Due to a good balance of properties, including reasonable work output, NiTi-20Pt alloys hold promise as a possible high-temperature shape memory alloy (HTSMA) for actuator applications up to about 250 °C.  However, one of the greatest challenges to developing a viable HTSMA for demonstration purposes or even commercial use is to establish the appropriate primary and secondary processing techniques that would allow availability of the material in necessary product form such as wire.  To this end we have successfully processed a NiTi-20Pt alloy by a number of different techniques including high-temperature extrusion to produce bar stock, a multiple extrusion technique to produce thin rod, and cold drawing to produce fine wire.  After thermomechanical processing, the materials were subjected to a series of annealing and other post-processing treatments in order to prepare them for high temperature actuator applications.  The grain size, hardness, and transformation temperatures of the thermomechanically processed NiTi-20Pt alloy were determined as a function of annealing temperature to establish an appropriate stress-relief treatment that restored the high transformation temperature for the alloy while avoiding recrystallization and grain growth.  Basic tensile properties, dynamic modulus, work output, and dimensional stability during repeated cycling under load were also determined for the various forms of this NiTi-20Pt alloy after certain annealing and training treatments, which will be compared and discussed in this paper. 

(This work was sponsored by NASA’s Vehicle Systems Program, QAT Project.)

Summary: We have successfully processed a NiTi-20Pt high temperature shape memory alloy by a number of different techniques including high-temperature extrusion to produce bar stock, a multiple extrusion technique to produce thin rod, and cold drawing to produce fine wire. The grain size, hardness, and transformation temperatures for the thermomechanically processed NiTi-20Pt alloy were determined as a function of annealing temperature to establish an appropriate stress-relief treatment that restored the high transformation temperature for the alloy while avoiding recrystallization and grain growth. Basic tensile properties, dynamic modulus, work output, and dimensional stability during repeated cycling under load were also determined for the various forms of this NiTi-20Pt alloy after certain annealing and training treatments.