Shape memory alloy

Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) refer to a group of materials which have the ability to return to a
predetermined shape when heated.

The shape memory effect is caused by a temperature dependent crystal structure. When an SMA is
below its phase transformation temperature, it possesses a low yield strength crystallography referred
to as Martensite while in this state the material can be deformed into other shapes with relatively little
force.

The new shape is retained provided the material is kept below its transformation temperature. When
heated above this temperature, the material reverts to its parent structure known as Austenite causing
it to return to its original shape. This phenomenon can be harnessed to provide a unique and powerful
actuator.

History

The first reported steps towards the discovery of the shape memory effect were taken in the
1930s. According to Otsuka and Wayman, A. Ölander discovered the pseudoelastic behavior of
the Au-Cd alloy in 1932. Greninger and Mooradian (1938) observed the formation and
disappearance of a martensitic phase by decreasing and increasing the temperature of a Cu-Zn
alloy. The basic phenomenon of the memory effect governed by the thermoelastic behavior of
the martensite phase was widely reported a decade later by Kurdjumov and Khandros (1949)
and also by Chang and Read (1951)

The different alloys which exhibit shape memory effect include

Ag-Cd
Au-Cd
Cu-Al-Ni
Cu-Sn
Cu-Zn
Cu-Zn-X (X = Si, Al, Sn)
Fe-Pt
Mn-Cu
Fe-Mn-Si
Pt alloys
Co-Ni-Al
Co-Ni-Ga
Ni-Fe-Ga
Ti-Pd in various concentrations
Ni-Ti (~55% Ni)
Ni-Ti-Nb
Ni-Mn-Ga

Applications

Aerospace

Because of their ability to recover strain in the presence of stress, SMAs are included in the class of
materials known as active materials, which also includes piezoelectric, magneto restrictive materials,
and shape memory polymers, among others. SMAs provide high actuation forces and displacements
compared to other active materials
The aerospace industry is actively pursuing the development of new SMA technologies as well as
assimilation of SMAs into existing systems. An SMA component, being both structural and active, can
effectively reduce the complexity of a system when compared to the same system utilizing standard
technology (i.e. an electromechanical or hydraulic actuator). This increased simplicity gained by trading
multiple moving parts for a single active element can lead to a higher overall reliability, especially at low
cycles. Such an integration of structure and actuator can also be accomplished in a compact
arrangement. This compact integration is possible due to the high actuation stresses and strains
generated, leading to a high energy density. These beneficial attributes make shape memory alloys an
attractive active material candidate as the aerospace industry continues to push for so-called “smart”
structures and “intelligent” systems
Properties of shape memory materials

The stress strain behavior of shape memory materials exhibits two interesting non linear phenomenon,
the shape memory and pseudoelastic effects.

The shape memory effect is a property by which very large mechanical strains can be recovered by
heating the material above a critical temperature. This strain recovery property produces large
contractions in the shape memory materials and enables their use as a thermo mechanical actuator

The pseudoelastic effect is a property by which the material when kept above the critical temperature
exhibits a very large strain that is recovered fully when the material is unloaded.