Clevertex - Grado Zero Espace Srl

The outer layer used: a Kermel10 - viscose weft knit
Fig. 105 Waistcoat with incorporated springs made of a memory alloy
Additionally, Nitinol alloys were also be used to design superelastic bra-wires. In common metal the
limit of elasticity is about 2%. A superelastic Ni-Ti wire has elasticity as high as 6%. This means that a
Ni-Ti wire can support a larger amount of strain with complete recovery on unloading. The support
wire can locally deform t adjust to any given shape, without stiffening. This results in a higher comfort,
when used in a bra. The superelastic wire combines the comfort of a nylon wire and gives the wanted
support of a steel wire.
Grado° zero espace has commercialised a wrinkle free shirt called ‘Oricalco’ out of Nitinol fabrics. The
'Thermal Shape Memory Alloy' is characterised by its extraordinary ability to recover any shape, preprogrammed,
upon heating. Until today this light weight alloy with about 50% Titanium inside has been
used in advanced sectors like space and recently in medical applications.
Through the Technology Transfer Programme of the ESA, D'Appolonia has transferred this knowledge
in traditional sectors.
In this framework Corpo Nove, through their R&D spin-off Grado Zero Espace, have used Thermal
Shape Memory metals as a fabric for the manufacturing of a shirt on with long sleeves which was
10 KERMEL is a high-technological fibre developed in the 60s by Rhône Poulenc. It is an aramid fibre, belonging to the
polyamids and the polyimids. The fibre is thermostable and not-inflammable, which makes it very useful for all sorts of
protective clothing (for firemen, police officers, personnel in petrol refineries and chemical companies).
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