Shape-memory alloy and shape-memory alloy wire
AssigneesTokyo Institute of Technology, Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.
InventorsHideki Hosoda, Akira Umise, Kenji Goto
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Abstract
The present invention provides a shape-memory alloy including a Au—Cu—Al alloy having 20 at % or more and 40 at % or less Cu and 15 at % or more and 30 at % or less Al, with the balance being Au and inevitable impurities. The shape-memory alloy has a Vickers hardness of 360 Hv or less. The Au—Cu—Al alloy of the present invention is an alloy capable of developing both biocompatibility and a shape-memory effect, and further capable of achieving artifactlessness in a magnetic environment. The Au—Cu—Al alloy can be produced by heat-treating a clad material formed of a combination of a hollow material made of a Au—Cu alloy and a core material made of metallic Al at 500° C. or more and 700° C. or less.
Claims8
A shape-memory alloy wire consisting of a Au—Cu—Al alloy having 20 at % or more and 40 at % or less Cu and 15 at % or more and 30 at % or less Al, with the balance being Au and inevitable impurities, wherein
- the wire has a diameter of 1 mm or less,
- a Au concentration analyzed with respect to an arbitrary cross-section has a standard deviation of 1.0 at % or less, and
- the shape-memory alloy has a bulk susceptibility of −24 ppm or more and 6 ppm or less, and has a Vickers hardness of 360 Hv or less.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.