Abstract
Since Ti-Ni based shape memory alloys (SMAs) work well at temperatures less than 373K, SMAs are expect to apply the heat-engine which recovers low-temperature thermal energy. The pulley-type SMA heat-engine, which is one of the SMA heat-engine, is driven by heating of the liner or shape SMA element. However, the pulley-type engine tends to overheat because cooling method is air cooling. Owing to this, generating power decreases with increasing of operating time. We proposed a new cooling mechanism to cool off a pulley by streaming water. In addition, the shape of SMA element is modified into a tape shape from a liner or coil shape for improvement of the output power and fatigue characteristics of the SMA element. This tape shape SMA element is produced by a centrifugal casting method. In this study, the effect of heat-treatment conditions on shape memory characteristics is investigated.
