Martensitic and magnetic transformations of the Heusler Ni50Mn50−yXy (X=In, Sn and Sb) alloys were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry measurement and the vibrating sample magnetometry technique. In all these alloy systems, the austenite phase with the ferromagnetic state was transformed into the martensite phase, which means that these Heusler alloys have potential as Ga-free ferromagnetic shape memory alloys (FSMAs). Furthermore, multiple martensitic transformations, such as two- or three-step martensitic transformations, occur in all these alloy systems. It was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy observation that the crystal structure of the martensite phase is an orthorhombic four-layered structure which has not been reported in other FSMAs. Therefore, the present Ga-free FSMAs have the great possibility of the appearance of a large magnetic-field-induced strain.

We have identified cobalt-base superalloys showing a high-temperature strength greater than those of conventional nickel-base superalloys. The cobalt-base alloys are strengthened by a ternary compound with the L1(2) structure, gamma' Co3(Al,W), which precipitates in the disordered gamma face-centered cubic cobalt matrix with high coherency and with high melting points. We also identified a ternary compound, gamma' Ir3(Al,W), with the L1(2) structure, which suggests that the Co-Ir-Al-W-base systems with gamma+gamma' (Co,Ir)3(Al,W) structures offer great promise as candidates for next-generation high-temperature materials.

Shape-memory alloys, such as Ni-Ti and Cu-Zn-Al, show a large reversible strain of more than several percent due to superelasticity. In particular, the Ni-Ti-based alloy, which exhibits some ductility and excellent superelastic strain, is the only superelastic material available for practical applications at present. We herein describe a ferrous polycrystalline, high-strength, shape-memory alloy exhibiting a superelastic strain of more than 13%, with a tensile strength above 1 gigapascal, which is almost twice the maximum superelastic strain obtained in the Ni-Ti alloys. Furthermore, this ferrous alloy has a very large damping capacity and exhibits a large reversible change in magnetization during loading and unloading. This ferrous shape-memory alloy has great potential as a high-damping and sensor material.

In superelastic alloys, large deformation can revert to a memorized shape after removing the stress. However, the stress increases with increasing temperature, which limits the practical use over a wide temperature range. Polycrystalline Fe-Mn-Al-Ni shape memory alloys show a small temperature dependence of the superelastic stress because of a small transformation entropy change brought about by a magnetic contribution to the Gibbs energies. For one alloy composition, the superelastic stress varies by 0.53 megapascal/°C over a temperature range from -196 to 240°C.

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Phase equilibria between the and 0 phases at 900 C in the Co-(10-70)Ni-Al-W system were determined by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). It was found that the 0 phase with L1 2 structure continuously exists from the Co side to the Ni side in Co-Ni-Al-W system and that it widens to the low W region with increasing Ni content. The partition of Al into the 0 phase increased with Ni content, while the W changed from a 0 former to a former by increase of Ni content. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements also revealed that the 0 solvus temperature increases with Ni content, while the solidus temperature is hardly affected by such content. The lattice parameter of the and 0 phases and the mismatch decreased with increasing Ni content, which caused the morphologic change of the 0 precipitates from cubes to spheres.

In polycrystalline materials, grain growth occurs at elevated temperatures to reduce the total area of grain boundaries with high energy. The grain growth rate usually slows down with annealing time, making it hard to obtain grains larger than a millimeter in size. We report a crystal growth method that employs only a cyclic heat treatment to obtain a single crystal of more than several centimeters in a copper-based shape-memory alloy. This abnormal grain growth phenomenon results from the formation of a subgrain structure introduced through phase transformation. These findings provide a method of fabricating a single-crystal or large-grain structure important for shape-memory properties, magnetic properties, and creep properties, among others.

Tensile and compressive stress–strain characteristics for Ni–Ga–Fe ferromagnetic shape memory alloys at several temperatures were investigated by mechanical test and a critical stress versus temperature diagram was obtained. The crystal structure of the martensite phase obtained by tensile-stress-induced martensitic transformation was estimated from the degree of the transformation strain. Stress-induced martensite transformed from the parent phase with an L21 structure showed a 14M structure by tensile stress and by further applying stress, the 14M structure martensitically was transformed into an L10 structure. Moreover, it was found in the compressive test that variant rearrangement occurred by very low compressive stress less than 3 MPa, which is similar to the phenomenon seen in Ni–Mn–Ga alloys.