Phase stability in Cu–Zn-based ternary alloys with elements of column 14

By adding small amounts of ternary elements Ge, Si or Sn, it is possible to raise the martensitic transformation temperature MS of binary B2 ordered Cu–Zn towards room temperature. Several poly and single crystal ternary alloys have been studied using resistivity and calorimetric measurements, tensile experiments and optical observations. The influence of the composition and thermomechanical pretreatment on the martensitic transformation has been analyzed. It is shown that the increase in the transformation temperature at a constant electron concentration favors competing decomposition mechanisms.