A method for manufacturing a strip having a variable thickness along its length, comprising the steps: an initial strip of constant thickness is provided; homogeneous cold rolling of the initial strip along its length in order to obtain an intermediate strip of constant thickness along the rolling direction; flexible cold rolling of the intermediate strip along its length in order to obtain a variable thickness strip, having, along its length, first areas with a first thickness (e+s) and second areas with a second thickness (e), less than the first thickness (e+s), continuous annealing of the strip. The plastic deformation ratio generated, after an optional intermediate recrystallization annealing, by the homogeneous cold rolling and the flexible cold rolling steps in the first areas is greater than or equal to 30%.

A method is provided of making a magnetocaloric alloy composition comprising Ni, Co, Mn, and Ti, which preferably includes certain beneficial substitutional elements, by melting the composition and rapidly solidifying the melted composition at a cooling rate of at least 100 K/second (Kelvin/second) to improve a magnetocaloric property of the composition. The rapidly solidified composition can be heat treated to homogenize the composition and annealed to tune the magneto-structural transition for use in a regenerator.

A hydrogen storage alloy suitable for prescribed pretreatment, that is, pretreatment wherein mechanical pulverization is performed after pulverizing a hydrogen storage alloy and absorbing/desorbing hydrogen is provided. The hydrogen storage alloy comprises a parent phase having a CaCu.sub.5-type, that is, an AB.sub.5-type crystal structure, wherein the A site is constituted from a rare earth element containing La; and the B site does not contain Co and contains at least Ni, Al, and Mn, with the ratio (Mn/Al) of the content of Mn (molar ratio) to the content of Al (molar ratio) being 0.60 or more and less than 1.56, and the ratio (La/(Mn+Al)) of the content of La (molar ratio) to the total content of the content of Al (molar ratio) and the content of Mn (molar ratio) being more than 0.92.

This invention relates to an operational element and a method for manufacturing the operational element that comprises magnetic shape memory alloy. in the method at least a part of the magnetic shape memory alloy is arranged as an active region that is responsive to a magnetic field and at least one other part of the magnetic shape memory alloy is arranged as an inactive region that is unresponsive to a magnetic field.

Described is a magnetocaloric regenerator comprising one or more materials containing cobalt, manganese and boron and optionally carbon.

A method is provided of making a magnetocaloric alloy composition comprising Ni, Co, Mn, and Ti, which preferably includes certain beneficial substitutional elements, by melting the composition and rapidly solidifying the melted composition at a cooling rate of at least 100 K/second (Kelvin/second) to improve a magnetocaloric property of the composition. The rapidly solidified composition can be heat treated to homogenize the composition and annealed to tune the magneto-structural transition for use in a regenerator.

A hydrogen storage alloy contains Mm, Ni, Mn, Al, and Co and has a main phase having a CaCu.sub.5-type crystal structure. La and Ce together account for 95 mass % or more of Mm. When the mole ratios of Ni, Mn, Al, and Co with respect to 1 mol of Mm are represented by a, b, c, and d, respectively, d is 0.00 or more and less than 0.15, d/b is 0.00 or more and 0.35 or less, and the sum of a+b+c+d is 5.22 or more and 5.44 or less. The ratio H/E of hardness H (GPa) to composite elastic modulus E (GPa) as measured using a nanoindentation technique is 0.08 or more and 0.15 or less.

The present technology relates to a NiMnGa magnetic shape memory (MSM) alloy including twin boundaries type 2, which are deviated approximately +/2-4 degrees from (101) or equivalent crystallographic plane by rotation about [101] or equivalent crystallographic direction. This technology relates also to an actuator, sensor and harvester including MSM element of this technology.

In one aspect, methods of making cladded articles are described herein. A method of making a cladded article, in some embodiments, comprises disposing over a surface of a metallic substrate a sheet comprising organic binder and powder metal or powder alloy having a solidus temperature at least 100 C. less than the metallic substrate and heating the powder metal or powder alloy to provide a sintered metal or sintered alloy cladding metallurgically bonded to the metallic substrate.

Embodiments disclosed herein related to superalloy compositions and applications using the same. The superalloy compositions disclosed herein including at least one ternary intermelallic compound having a general chemical composition of A.sub.Z[B.sub.XC.sub.Y]. Base element A is selected from the group consisting of cobalt, iron, and nickel; and element B and element C are independently selected from different members of a group consisting 40 elements of the periodic table. Base element A, element B, and clement C are each different elements. Z is about 2.1 to about 3.9. X and Y are about 0.1 to about 1.9. Additionally, the at least one ternary intermelallic compound of each of the superalloy compositions exhibits the face-centered cubic structure L1.sub.2. The at least one ternary intermetallic compound of each of the ternary superalloy compositions may exhibit a theoretical formation enthalpy and a decomposition energy less than Co.sub.3[Al, W].