Prototype of Heusler Alloys – Cu 2 MnAl

1. Thermodynamics of Shape Memory and Heusler AlloysPhilip G. Nash, Illinois Institute of Technology, DMR 0964812 Prototype of Heusler Alloys – Cu2MnAl Heusler alloys possess properties that may be used in many applications such as actuators and have potential in new spintronic devices. Our investigation has experimentally determined the heats of formation and specific heats of a number of binary and ternary intermetallic compounds. Comparison of these results show that first principles calculations are in better agreement with the experimental values than values obtained from the semi-empirical model of Miedema. Results have been published in a paper and presented at two conferences during the year: TOFA Conference, Sept. 2010 and the 3rd Sino-German Symposium on Computational Thermodynamics and Kinetics, China Specific heat of Ni2TiSn

2. Thermodynamics of Shape Memory and Heusler Alloys Philip G. Nash, Illinois Institute of Technology, DMR 0964812 We have mentored 2 high school students from IMSA , one male, one female in their research projects in our laboratory. New collaborations have been initiated with groups performing first principles calculations: Dr. Pavlu in Czech Republic and Prof. Du in China. We hosted a visit by Professor Du and one of his students, Dandan Liu for 3 weeks in our lab to exchange information on experimental work and thermocalc calculations. We continue to build our web accessible database of experimental formation enthalpies for use by the larger community: tptc.iit.edu Professors Yong Du and Philip Nash in Chicago during his visit to IIT to strengthen our collaboration on thermodynamic measurements and calculations