Nitinol is a nickel-titanium alloy, roughly equal parts nickel and titanium, that shows both the shape-memory effect, returning to a preset shape when heated past its transformation temperature, and superelasticity, snapping back from large deformations once an applied load is removed. William J. Buehler discovered it in 1961 at the U.S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory while searching for a fatigue-resistant alloy for missile nose cones, after a folded sample was seen to spring back to shape when warmed at a laboratory meeting. Its unusual behavior has made it central to self-expanding vascular stents, orthodontic wires, catheters, thermal and electrical actuators, eyeglass frames and aerospace components. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Primary UseSourced to the subject's own accountSelf-expanding vascular stents, orthodontic archwires and catheters; thermal and electrical actuators; aerospace and consumer components exploiting shape memory and superelasticity. 1 Origin YearSourced to the subject's own account Classification
Material ClassSourced to the subject's own account Connections
Associated With
Nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy, is the best known shape-memory alloy.
In Field
Sources
1. Nitinol (Wikipedia)
WikipediaShape memory effect section
Shape memory is the ability of nitinol to undergo deformation at one temperature, stay in its deformed shape when the external force is removed, then recover its original, undeformed shape upon heating above its transformation temperature.
Lead section, alloy composition
Nickel titanium, also known as nitinol, is a metal alloy of nickel and titanium, where the two elements are present in roughly equal atomic percentages.
material-class sentence
Nitinol is a nickel-titanium alloy, roughly equal parts nickel and titanium, that shows both the shape-memory effect, returning to a preset shape when heated past its transformation temperature, and superelasticity, snapping back from large deformations once an applied load is removed.
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