Material	Copper-base SMA alloy
	It is a Shape-Memory Alloy that, after being strained, at a certain temperature revert back to its original shape. Copper-zinc-aluminum and copper-aluminum-nickel alloys are commercially available Shape Memory Alloys. Their transformation temperature ranges between -180 and +200 C and -140 and +100 C respectively . They are cheaper than Nickel-Titanium alloys, can be melted in air with ease, and have a shape-memory strain up to 4-5 %. Hot work in air is well suitable, while cold work is suitable only for low aluminum-content alloys (< 6 % wt.).
Category	Metals
Processes	Induction melting
Similar materials	Shape memory alloys Nickel-Titanium alloy Iron-base alloys
References	Shape Memory Applications Inc. Nitinol Devices & Components Inc. G. RAU GmbH & Co.
Photo	Thomas Nissen (Computer graphics)
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