Titanium-nickel, TiNi

An important martensitic transformation occurs in the titanium-nickel (Ti-Ni) system, as it is used in shape-memory alloys, described in Section 8.3.3. The phase in question is TiNi (Figure 8.12), called Nitinol. At temperatures above 1090 °C, TiNi has a bcc structure in which the atoms are distributed at random over the available sites in the crystal. Below... 

The T-T-T diagram shows the aging reactions in unstable (>50.6% Ni) titanium-nickel alloys (Ref 7). In general, TiNi -> TiiiNii4 -> Ti2Ni3 -4 TiNis as the aging temperature increases or as... 

The titanium-nickel alloys show unusual properties, that is, after it is deformed the material can snap back to its previous shape following heating of the material. This phenomenon is called shape memory effect (SME). The SME of TiNi alloy was first observed by Buehler and Wiley at the U.S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory [Buehler et al, 1963]. The equiatomic TiNi or NiTi alloy (Nitinol) exhibits an exceptional SME near room temperature if it is plasticaUy deformed below the transformation temperature, it reverts back to its original shape as the temperature is raised. The SME can be generally related to a diffusionless martensitic phase transformation which is also thermoelastic in nature, the thermoelasticity being attributed to the ordering in the parent and martensitic phases [Wayman and Shimizu, 1972]. Another unusual... 

Metal alloys can be amorphous, too. LiquidmetaF alloy is an amorphous alloy of zirconium mixed with nickel, titanium, copper, and beryllium. It is used in the heads of some brands of golf clubs. Traditional metal club heads may have microscopic gaps where planes of metallic crystals meet. These tiny gaps are a potential source of weakness. The amorphous alloy is non-crystalline, so the metal structure does not have potential breakage sites. 

The discovery of the shape memory effect in TiNi by Buehler et al. at the Naval Ordinance Labs occurred during an investigation of the alloy for possible use as a corrosion-resistant knife for underwater activities. The investigators called the alloy nitinol for Nickel, Titanium, and Naval Ordinance Labs. 

TiNi is an alloy composed of titanium and nickel. This alloy shows very high elastic deformation and a shape memory effect, which are not possessed by other types of conventional metallic alloys. These properties along with their superior ductility, fatigue strength, and corrosion resistance have resulted in many applications for MEMS. 

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