Just read an interesting article on shape memory stainless steels (SMSS)
(Advanced Materials & Processes, Feb 2001,
http://www.asminternational.org/Template.cfm?Section=AdvancedMaterialsandPro
cesses&NavMenuID=60). Unfortunately you need to be an ASM member to view
this article.
Very interesting material, it costs much less than the nickel-titanium shape
memory alloys (such as nitinol) but it has less fully reversible strain. One
of the biggest application areas for this alloy could be in pipe couplings.
To make a connection, two pipes with diameters slightly smaller than the
shape memory alloy coupling are inserted into the coupling. The shape memory
alloy is then returned to its prior microstructure, thus gripping the pipes
tightly. Such couplings are already applied in piping systems on the U.S.
Navy F-14 Tomcat aircraft using the more expensive TiNi alloys (previous
information was excerpted from the article).
I can't help but think somehow there could be some fanatstic RP applications
for this material, perhaps a recyclable RP material where you could
constrain it to the shape you wanted to create a layup tool or some other
use and then when you are done with it, return it to its prior
microstructure for use agian on another project. Has anybody ever worked
with this material?
Best Regards,
Glenn Whiteside
For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Fri Jan 04 2002 - 09:56:49 EET