Sept_AMP_Digital

9 / 74

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • SEPTEMBER 2014 9
Forging an iron-based SMA cast block: To
shape the block, it is heated to roughly
1150°C. Courtesy of TU Bergakademie
Freiberg, Institut für Metallformung.
However, one problem has remained a
stumbling block: To activate the memory
effect, current materials must be heated
to 400°C, too high for applications involv-
ing concrete, mortar, and other heat-sen-
sitive materials.
Empa researchers led by Christian
Leinenbach succeeded in developing a
novel iron-manganese-silicon SMA alloy
that is activated at just 160°C, a tempera-
ture more suitable for use with concrete.
The materials scientists designed a range
of virtual alloys using thermodynamic
simulations and selected the most prom-
ising combinations. These were manufac-
tured in the laboratory and their shape
memory characteristics tested, with great
success. Several of the new materials met
construction industry requirements, an
important milestone on the path to pro-
viding economic shape memory steel al-
loys for real-world applications. For more
information: Christian Leinenbach,
c h r i s t i a n . l e i n e n b a c h@emp a . c h ,
+415.876.545.18, .
Materion Brush Beryllium & Compos-
ites, Elmore, Ohio, received a supply con-
tract from Lockheed Martin, Bethesda,
Md., for proprietary AlBeCast aluminum-
beryllium investment cast components for
the F-35 Lightning II’s Electro-Optical Tar-
geting System (EOTS). Materion, now pur-
suing qualification with Lockheed Martin
for EOTS components, is the current sup-
plier of the AlBeMet alloy for EOTS. Al-Be
materials and castings feature ultra-light
weight, stiffness, mechanical stability, and
excellent thermal properties.
, .
Universal Stainless, Bridgeville, Pa.,
achieved GE Aviation’s S-400 and S-1000
approvals for its Bridgeville, Dunkirk, and
North Jackson facilities. The company is
now confirmed as a certified materials
testing laboratory for GE Aviation, as well
as a material supplier with the requisite
quality processes to meet GE’s rigorous
standards. .