Materials Science Forum, Vol.475-479, 1957-1960, 2005
Shape memory alloy pipe-joint with copper coating
In order to improve the performance of pipe couplings, a technique has been developed to electroplate copper on the inner surface of Ni-Ti-Nb pipe-joints after pre-deformation. Gas leak tightness and tensile tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of the couplings both with and without copper coating. It was found that electroplating a thin copper layer on the inner surface of the pipe-joint effectively solved the problem of leakage and greatly enhanced the pull-out force of the couplings. Furthermore, the pipe-joints without ribs can be demounted easily after being cooled to the liquid nitrogen temperature and benefit the maintenance of the pipeline.