AsianScientist (Jul. 29, 2016) – Scientists in Japan have developed an alloy of magnesium and scandium (Mg-Sc) that shows shape memory properties such as shape recovery upon heating.
This finding, published in Science, raises the potential for development and application of lightweight shape memory alloys (SMAs) across a number of industries, including the aerospace industry.
SMAs, otherwise known as smart alloys, can return to their original shape after being deformed under high strain. They have been used in various industrial fields such as consumer electronics, housing facilities, personal ornaments, anti-seismic engineering and medical equipment. While these shape memory characteristics have been found in various alloy systems, they do not seem to appear in lightweight alloy systems such as magnesium and aluminum alloys.
This newly discovered Mg-Sc alloy exhibits superelasticity at -150°C. Superelasticity happens when an alloy deforms to very high strains but returns to its original shape when the load is removed. In the study, the researchers showed that they could vary the operation temperature of the alloy by controlling its scandium content. A Mg-Sc alloy with an atomic percentage of 18.3 percent scandium—that is, 18.3 percent of the atoms in the alloy is scandium—showed shape recovery upon heating from -30°C to room temperature.
The researchers believe that their findings could have significant impact on the aerospace industry, as the lighter the components, the more fuel-efficient the rockets and spacecraft will be. Applications for the lightweight alloy include self-deployable space habitat frames and damping devices on spacecraft systems.
The article can be found at: Ogawa et al. (2016) A Lightweight Shape-memory Magnesium Alloy.
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Source: Tohoku University; Photo: Pixabay.
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