Thermodynamics and characterization of shape memory Cu-Al-Zn alloys

The thermodynamic properties and the microstructure, hardness and electrical conductivity of shape memory alloys (SMAs) belonging to ternary Cu-Al-Zn system were studied by Muggianu model and experiment, respectively. The isothermal section of phase diagram at 293 K was calculated using Thermo-Calc software. Experiments were conducted by X-ray diffraction, light optic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, hardness and electrical conductivity measurements. The calculated values of thermodynamic properties indicate that Cu shows good miscibility with Al and Zn in all investigated alloys. The microstructural analysis of samples reveals that the structure consists of large and polygonal grains.