Wholesale gas prices in the Netherlands and the UK have risen 20 percent recently amid concerns about Russian supplies.

The EU plans to cut its dependence on Russian gas by two-thirds this year and stop importing Russian fossil fuels by 2027. Russia exported about 155 billion cubic meters of gas to the EU in 2021.

The US recently said it would try to supply 15bn cubic meters of LNG to the EU this year. U.S. LNG plants are running at full capacity, and analysts say much of the extra gas the U.S. sends to Europe comes from what should have been exported elsewhere.

The German government called Russia "an unreliable energy supplier". Even though the German government claimed that they have been preparing for the situation for a long time that Russia may stop sending gas one day, experts say it is hard for the EU to replace all of Russia's gas exports any time soon.

The supply and prices of many nitinol powder will continue to be influenced by international situations.

Nitinol is a nickel and titanium alloy that contains about 50 percent nickel.
Although it was discovered in the early 1960s, Nitinol would take decades to reach the market due to difficulties encountered in processing and manufacturing. In fact, many of Nitinol's uses have been realized for the most part since the mid-1990s, when its usefulness in a wide range of applications resulted from its shape memory properties and super-elastic properties. Shape memory means that Nitinol can change into a new form at one temperature - below normal body temperature, for example - and then return to its original shape when heated beyond its transition temperature. 
 
Characteristics and Properties of Nitinol
Nitinol also has a unique ability to adapt to specific strains and is compatible with the human body, so it has many applications in the medical field. At higher temperatures, Nitinol exhibits a cubic crystal structure called austenite (also known as the parent phase). At lower temperatures, it spontaneously transforms into a more complex "monoclinic" crystal structure called martensite. The temperature at which austenite changes to martensite is generally called the transition temperature -- more specifically, martensite begins to form at the so-called Ms temperature, and the temperature at which it is fully formed is called the Mf temperature. These two aspects of its structure -- shape memory and superelasticity -- allow Nitinol to exhibit a reversible response to the applied stress, which itself is caused by the phase transition between the austenitic and martensitic phases of the crystal.
 
Crucial to the properties of Nitinol are two key aspects of this phase transition. The first is that the transition is "reversible", meaning that heating above the transition temperature will restore the crystal structure to the simpler austenite phase. The second key point is that the two-way conversion is instantaneous.
 
The crystal structure of martensite has the unique ability to undergo finite deformation with virtually no breaking of atomic bonds. This type of deformation, called twins, consists of a rearrangement of atomic planes without causing permanent deformation. It can withstand about 6-8% of strain in this way. 
 
When martensite is restored to austenite by heating, the original austenite structure will be restored regardless of whether the martensite phase is deformed. Thus, the name "shape memory" refers to the fact that the shape of the high-temperature austenite phase is "remembered", even though the alloy deforms severely at lower temperatures. 
 
So a Nitinol medical device -- a stent, for example -- can be made at body temperature, deformed or folded smaller at another temperature, and inserted into an artery, where it returns to normal temperature and returns to its original size. The phase change also allows the device to fully recover after bending to high strain rates (up to 7%).
 
Super-elastic Effect of Nitinol Wire 
This "hyper-elastic" effect allows the use of a Nitinol wire device that has been bent or shaped to allow introduction or use in the body. Tools such as small grasping and biopsy devices can extend from the tube and extend over a much larger area than devices made of standard alloys. Nitinol's weight reduction and unique properties make it particularly attractive for biomedical applications, including heart valve tools, stents, nails, bone anchors, complex diaphragm defect devices, and various implants. 
 
However, heat-treating Nitinol is delicate -- and crucial in fine-tuning the transition temperature. Aging time and temperature control the precipitation of various Ni-rich phases, so as to control the nickel content in the lattice of nickel and titanium. Aging increases the transition temperature by depleting the nickel matrix. The combination of heat treatment and cold working is very important to control the properties of Nitinol alloy.
 
Ni-Ti Alloy Powder Price
The price is influenced by many factors including the supply and demand in the market, industry trends, economic activity, market sentiment, and unexpected events.
If you are looking for the latest Ni-Ti alloy powder price, you can send us your inquiry for a quote. ([email protected])
 
Ni-Ti Alloy Powder Supplier
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Maximo Pacheco, chairman of Codelco, Chile's state copper company, said in a recent interview that he expects copper prices to remain 'very strong in the future,' despite the recent drop. Codelco is the world's largest copper producer.

Copper prices suffered their biggest weekly drop in a year this week on concerns that tightening policy by central banks will dampen global growth and reduce demand for industrial metals. With its wide range of industrial and construction uses, copper prices are often seen as a bellwether of economic activity.

London copper closed at $8,325 a tonne on Friday after touching $8,122.50 a tonne, down 25 per cent from its Peak in March and its lowest level since February 2021. In addition to copper, other industrial metals also fell sharply. Tin, for example, fell nearly 15% at one point on Friday, bringing its losses for the week to about 25%.

"We may be in a temporary short-term turbulence, but what is important is the fundamentals and the balance of supply and demand [currently] looks very favourable for those of us with copper reserves," Mr. Pacheco said. Chile is the world's largest copper producer.  

Mr. Pacheco adds that in a world where copper is the best conductor and there are not many new reserves, copper prices look very strong because the future is very favourable for electrification.

Luoyang Tongrun Nano Technology is a trusted chemical supplier and manufacturer providing high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials. If you are looking for the nitinol powder, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry.

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