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Thin-Walled Niobium-Titanium Capillary Tubing: Characteristics of Niobium-Titanium Alloy

The Double-Edged Sword of Thin-Walled Capillary Tubing Processing. Niobium-titanium alloy is a preferred material for high-end capillary tubing due to its unique combination of high strength and low-temperature superconductivity. These two properties make it suitable for demanding applications such as aerospace and medical equipment. However, in thin-walled processing, these advantages translate into technical challenges, becoming a double-edged sword that restricts machining accuracy.

High strength means that the metal requires greater external force during deformation. Thin-walled tubing (wall thickness <0.1mm) has extremely poor structural stability, and excessive processing force can easily cause the tubing to bend and crack. Furthermore, niobium-titanium alloy has a weak plastic deformation capacity. During cold rolling, stress concentration is easily generated within the metal. If the deformation rate cannot be precisely controlled, localized embrittlement will occur, seriously affecting the product's service life.

To balance material properties and processing requirements, engineers need to optimize processing parameters: on the one hand, reduce the deformation of a single rolling pass, gradually reach the target wall thickness through multiple rolling passes, and reduce stress accumulation; on the other hand, introduce intermediate annealing treatment during the processing, eliminate internal stress in the metal by heating at a specific temperature, restore the material's plasticity, and provide protection for subsequent rolling.