Effects of Composition and Thermal Treatment of Cu-Al-Zn Alloys with Low Content of Al on their Shape-memory Properties

Two Cu-Zn-Al alloys with variable content of Zn (25 and 30 wt%) and constant Al content (4 wt%) prepared by induction melting of pure metals and hot rolled into strips of 0.5 mm thickness were thermally processed by using three different heat treatments: direct quenching, step-quenching and upquenching with boiling water and room temperature water as the quenchants. The effects of composition and different methods of heat treatment on the microstructure and transformation temperatures of the investigated Cu-Zn-Al alloys were investigated using SEM-EDS and DSC techniques.