Linear shape memory alloy thermomechanical actuators

Abstract

The thermally activated changes in crystal structure in nickel-titanium shape memory alloy (SMA) material, which produces transformation strains of an order of magnitude higher than and opposite to the thermal strains, have been described using different models. Some of these models are defined by cyclic functions (trigonometric functions) which they become complex to control when they are subjected to a wide range of transformation temperatures. This chapter presents an alternative model to better describe the behavior of SMA for a more general temperature range, which an SMA-powered actuator might be subjected to. The proposed model is then implemented to the analysis of one-dimensional (1D) problem oriented to the two-dimensional (2D) space. The simulation results were then graphically compared to the experimen