Patent — available for licensing
Shape Memory Alloy with Adjustable, Wide-Ranging Actuation Temperatures
A NASA invention available to explore as a licensing opportunity.
About this technology
Overview
Innovators at NASA's Glenn Research Center have developed a new Nickel Titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy (SMA) with additions of Hafnium (Hf) and Zirconium (Zr) that offers a broader transformation temperature range and greater dimensional stability than any other SMA on the market. In spite of their many unique properties, broad commercial success of SMAs has remained elusive due to limited phase transformation temperatures and dimensional instability in high cycle applications. Glenn's innovation solves these limitations by A) tailoring transformation temperatures through molecular composition, heat treatments, or microstructural refinements, and B) engineering inherent dimensional stability through composition control and processing methods. The result is an exceptionally strong SMA that is heat-treatable and can be tuned for high, ambient, or sub-zero transformation temperatures as needed, making it a game changer in the SMA industry with practical applications to a variety of industries including aerospace, automotive, biomedical, and more.