Structure and properties of nanostructured Cu-13.2Al-5.1Ni shape memory alloy produced by melt spinning

The microstructure and properties of nanostructured Cu-13.2Al-5.1Ni shape memory alloy (SMA) were compared with those of initial coarse structure. The nanostructured Cu-Al-Ni ribbons were produced via rapid solidification using melt spinning technique. The structure and properties of both nanostructured and coarse-grain specimens were then characterized using XRD, SEM, AFM and DSC techniques. According to the obtained results, the nanostructured ribbons show one way shape memory effect. Besides, the formation of nanoparticles of γ2 (Cu9Al4) and the nanograins results in a significant decrease in the martensite↔austenite transformation temperature. The produced nanostructure not only leads to a considerable increase in the recovered deformation but also results in the structure stability when it is subjected to deformation-recovery cycles.