Alternate Approach to Af Determination in Bend-and-Free-Recovery in Finished Components

The ASTM 2082 standard sets forth a “rapid, economical method of determination of transformation temperatures.”  The standard was written for wire, tube, or strip samples, yet its principles have proven useful for components of many forms, and Af-testing of finished medical components generally follows the concepts in the standard.  However, the forms of medical components introduce certain challenges to the test and introduce additional potential for error.  To further the goal of rapid, economical testing while targeting a hoped-for improvement in metrology, an alternative approach was developed that maintains the thermodynamic conditions of ASTM 2082 but reduces certain dependencies on the mechanical interfaces between the sample and the measurement equipment.