Nitinol Sheet

Product Details:

Nitinol's unusual properties are derived from a reversible solid-state phase transformation known as a martensitic transformation, between two different martensite crystal phases, requiring 10,000–20,000 psi (69–138 MPa) of mechanical stress.

 

At high temperatures, nitinol assumes an interpenetrating simple cubic structure referred to as austenite (also known as the parent phase). At low temperatures, nitinol spontaneously transforms to a more complicated monoclinic crystal structure known as martensite (daughter phase).^[8] There are four transition temperatures associated to the austenite-to-martensite and martensite-to-austenite transformations. Starting from full austenite, martensite begins to form as the alloy is cooled to the so-called martensite start temperature, or M_s, and the temperature at which the transformation is complete is called the martensite finish temperature, or M_f. When the alloy is fully martensite and is subjected to heating, austenite starts to form at the austenite start temperature, A_s, and finishes at the austenite finish temperature, A_f.^[9]

Thermal hysteresis of nitinol's phase transformation:

The cooling/heating cycle shows thermal hysteresis. The hysteresis width depends on the precise nitinol composition and processing. Its typical value is a temperature range spanning about 20-50 K (20-50 °C; 36-90 °F) but it can be reduced or amplified by alloying^[10] and processing.^[11]

 

Crucial to nitinol properties are two key aspects of this phase transformation. First is that the transformation is "reversible", meaning that heating above the transformation temperature will revert the crystal structure to the simpler austenite phase. The second key point is that the transformation in both directions is instantaneous.

 

Martensite's crystal structure (known as a monoclinic, or B19' structure) has the unique ability to undergo limited deformation in some ways without breaking atomic bonds. This type of deformation is known as twinning, which consists of the rearrangement of atomic planes without causing slip, or permanent deformation. It is able to undergo about 6–8% strain in this manner. When martensite is reverted to austenite by heating, the original austenitic structure is restored, regardless of whether the martensite phase was deformed. Thus the name "shape memory" refers to the fact that the shape of the high temperature austenite phase is "remembered," even though the alloy is severely deformed at a lower temperature.^[12]

2D view of nitinol's crystalline structure during cooling/heating cycle

A great deal of pressure can be produced by preventing the reversion of deformed martensite to austenite — from 35,000 psi to, in many cases, more than 100,000 psi (689 MPa). One of the reasons that nitinol works so hard to return to its original shape is that it is not just an ordinary metal alloy, but what is known as an intermetallic compound. In an ordinary alloy, the constituents are randomly positioned in the crystal lattice; in an ordered intermetallic compound, the atoms (in this case, nickel and titanium) have very specific locations in the lattice.^[13] The fact that nitinol is an intermetallic is largely responsible for the complexity in fabricating devices made from the alloy

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 1145450454
• Pay Mode Terms: L/C (Letter of Credit),T/T (Bank Transfer),D/P
• Port of Dispatch: Nhava Sheva
• Production Capacity: 1 METRIC TONS
• Delivery Time: READY STOCK
• Packaging Details: Packing: Superior Quality Polythin Bag and Standard Wooden Box.