Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of nanostructured Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys

摘要

The melt spinning technique, with an applied cooling rate of about 106 K/s, was used to produce a nanostructured Cu+13.2Al+ 5.1Ni (in wt%) shape memory alloy. The properties of nanostructured ribbons were then compared with those of conventional coarse struc-ture. The microstructural evolution was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Microhardness measurements indicate a two-fold increase in hardness because of the produced nanos-tructure. Comparing to its coarse structure, the nanostructured Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloy exhibited the enhanced mechanical properties including a ductility of 6.5% and a pronounced plateau in the stress-strain curve.