Previous experimental observations have shown that the pseudoelastic response of NiTi shape memory alloys (SMA) is localized in nature and proceeds through nucleation and propagation of localized deformation bands. It has also been observed that the mechanical response of SMAs is strongly affected by loading rate and cyclic degradation. These behaviors significantly limit the accurate modeling of SMA elements used in various devices and applications. The aim of this work is to provide engineers with a constitutive model that can accurately describe the dynamic, unstable pseudoelastic response of SMAs, including their cyclic response, and facilitate the reliable design of SMA elements. A 1-D phenomenological model is developed to simulate the localized phase transformations in NiTi wires during both loading and unloading. In this model, it is assumed that the untransformed particles located close to the transformed regions are less stable than those further away from the transformed regions. By consideration of the thermomechanical coupling among the stress, temperature, and latent heat of transformation, the analysis can account for strain-rate effects. Inspired by the deformation theory of plasticity, the 1-D model is extended to a 3-D macromechanical model of localized unstable pseudoelasticity. An important feature of this model is the reorientation of the transformation strain tensor with changes in stress tensor. Unlike previous modeling efforts, the present model can also capture the propagation of localized deformation during unloading. The constitutive model is implemented within a 2-D finite element framework to allow numerical investigation of the effect of strain rate and boundary conditions on the overall mechanical response and evolution of localized transformation bands in NiTi strips. The model successfully captures the features of the transformation front morphology, and pseudoelastic response of NiTi strip samples observed in previous experiments. The 1-D and 3-D constitutive models are further extended to include the plastic deformation and degradation of material properties as a result of cyclic loading. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Mechanical Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Superelastic Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) are being explored as alternative reinforcing materials to traditional deformed steel reinforcement for seismic applications. The main advantage is the ability of the SMA to recover large nonlinear strains, which promotes the self-centering phenomenon. The primary objective of this research is to present the performance, before and after repair, of slender reinforced concrete shear walls, one reinforced internally with SMAs in the boundary zones within the plastic hinge region and other control wall reinforced with conventional steel only. The repair procedure included removal of damaged concrete within the plastic hinge region, replacing fractured and buckled reinforcement, followed by shortening of the SMA reinforcement in the boundary zones of SMA wall. The removed concrete was replaced with self-consolidating concrete, while the concrete above the plastic hinge region remained intact. The SMA reinforced concrete shear wall (before and after repair) exhibited stable hysteretic response with significant strength, and displacement and energy dissipation capacities. In addition, the walls exhibited pinching in the hysteretic response as a result of minimizing the residual displacements due to the restoring capacity of the SMA reinforcement. The results demonstrate that SMA reinforced components are self-centering, permitting repairing of damaged areas. Furthermore, the SMA reinforcement is re-usable given its capacity to reset to its original state. The length of the SMA bars in the original and repaired wall, in addition to the presence of starter bars in the original wall, were significant factors in the location of failure of the walls. The conventional steel wall prior to repair was unstable due to large residual displacements experienced during the original test. After repair the wall exhibited ratcheting in hysteretic response but with significant strength. The conventional wall, before and after repair, dissipated more energy than the SMA wall. This was the result of the wider hysteretic loops with reduced punching, but at the cost of large residual displacements. The starter bars in the conventional wall before repair controlled the location of failure, while the presence of couplers in the plastic hinge region was the main factor in determining the failure location in the repaired conventional wall.

This work describes a possibility to use a shape memory alloy as a non-traditional actuator in a particular mechatronic system. The practical part of this work is dedicated to the experimental property verification of the chosen shape memory alloy and also to the design and realization of the new type of electrically controlled gabled valve that uses a shape memory alloy as an actuator. This valve is designed as a replacement of the traditional solution and is also integrated into McKibbens pneumatic muscle endcap. There are also results of practical functional verification of the designed gabled valve solution listed here, and the limited condition for its manufacturing and use is stated here. In the theoretical part of this work, firstly, the shape memory alloy and non-linear systems hysteresis type are discussed. Secondly a new particular solution is designed, which is based on a non-linear computational element, defined by goniometric cosine function. Finally, the properties of the designed solution are verified through the simulations and with the use of experimentally gained datas.

This thesis is concerned with two problems in the Calculus of Variations touching on two central aspects of Materials Science: the structure of solid matter and its dynamic behavior. The problem pertaining to the first aspect is the analysis of the rigidity properties of possibly branched microstructures formed by shape memory alloys undergoing cubic-to-tetragonal transformations. On the basis of a variational model in the framework of linearized elasticity, we derive a non-convex and non-discrete valued differential inclusion describing the local volume fractions of such structures. Our main result shows the inclusion to be rigid without additional regularity assumptions and provides a list of all possible solutions. We give constructions ensuring that the various types of solutions indeed arise from the variational model and quantitatively describe their rigidity via H-measures. Our contribution to the second aspect is a conditional result on the convergence of the Allen-Cahn Equations to multi-phase mean curvature flow, which is a popular model for grain growth in polychrystalline metals. The proof relies on the gradient flow structure of both models and borrows ideas from certain convergence proofs for minimizing movement schemes.:1 Introduction 1.1 Shape memory alloys 1.2 Multi-phase mean curvature flow 2 Branching microstructures in shape memory alloys: Rigidity due to macroscopic compatibility 2.1 The main rigidity theorem 2.2 Outline of the proof 2.3 Proofs 3 Branching microstructures in shape memory alloys: Constructions 3.1 Outline and setup 3.2 Branching in two linearly independent directions 3.3 Combining all mechanisms for varying the volume fractions 4 Branching microstructures in shape memory alloys: Quantitative aspects via H-measures 4.1 Preliminary considerations 4.2 Structure of the H-measures 4.3 The transport property and accuracy of the approximation 4.4 Applications of the transport property 5 Convergence of the Allen-Cahn Equation to multi-phase mean curvature flow 5.1 Main results 5.2 Compactness 5.3 Convergence 5.4 Forces and volume constraints

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Shape memory alloys when deformed can produce strains as high as 8%. Heating results in a phase transformation and associated recovery of all the accumulated strain, a phenomenon known as shape memory. This strain recovery can occur against large forces, resulting in their use as actuators. The goal of this project is to lower the operating temperature range of shape memory alloys in order for them to be used in cryogenic switches, seals, valves, fluid-line repair and self-healing gaskets for space related technologies. The Ni-Ti-Fe alloy system, previously used in Grumman F-14 aircrafts and activated at 120 K, is further developed through arc-melting a range of compositions and subsequent thermo-mechanical processing. A controlled atmosphere arc-melting facility and vertical vacuum quench furnace facility was commissioned to fabricate these alloys. The facility can create a vacuum of 10-7 Torr and heat treat samples up to 977 °C. High purity powders of Ni, Ti and Fe in varying ratios were mixed and arc-melted into small buttons weighing 0.010 kg to 0.025 kg. The alloys were subjected to solutionizing and aging treatments. A combination of rolling, electro-discharge machining and low-speed cutting techniques were used to produce strips. Successful rolling experiments highlighted the workability of these alloys. The shape memory effect was successfully demonstrated at liquid nitrogen temperatures through a constrained recovery experiment that generated stresses of over 40 MPa. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and a dilatometry setup was used to characterize the fabricated materials and determine relationships between composition, thermo-mechanical processing parameters and transformation temperatures.

The demographic change in and the higher incidence of degenerative bone disease have resulted in an increase in the number of patients with osteoporotic bone tissue causing. amongst other issues, implant loosening. Revision surgery to treat and correct the loosenings should be avoided, because of the additional patient stress and high treatment costs. Shape memory alloys (SMA) can help to increase the anchorage stability of implants due to their superelastic behavior. The present study investigates the potential of hybridizing NiTi SMA sheets with additively manufactured Ti6Al4V anchoring structures using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology to functionalize a pedicle screw. Different scanning strategies are evaluated, aiming for minimized warpage of the NiTi SMA sheet. For biomechanical tests, functional samples were manufactured. A good connection between the additively manufactured Ti6Al4V anchoring structures and NiTi SMA substrate could be observed though crack formation occurring at the transition area between the two materials. These cracks do not propagate during biomechanical testing, nor do they lead to flaking structures. In summary, the hybrid manufacturing of a NiTi SMA substrate with additively manufactured Ti6Al4V structures is suitable for medical implants.

A coupled kinetic Monte Carlo – Finite Element Analysis (kMC–FEA) method is developed with a numerical implementation in the Scalable Implementation of Finite Elements at NASA (ScIFEN). This method is presented as a mesoscale model for Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) material systems. The model is based on Transition State Theory and predicts the nonlinear mechanical behavior of the 1st order solid–solid phase transformation between Austenite and Martensite in SMAs. The kMC–FEA modeling method presented in this work builds upon the work of Chen and Schuh [1, 2]. It represents a “bottom-up” approach to materials modeling and could serve as a bridge for future studies that attempt to link ab initio methods with phenomenological findings in SMA systems. This thesis presents the derivation of the kMC–FEA model, which is then used to probe the various responses expected in SMAs and verify the influence of model parameters on simulation behavior. In a departure from the work of Chen and Schuh, the thermodynamic derivation includes an elastic transformation energy term, which is found to be a significant fraction of the total transformation energy and play an important role in the evolution of a simulation. Theoretical predictions of the model behavior can be made from this derivation, including expected transformation stresses and temperatures. A convergence study is presented as verification that the new elastic energy term proposed in this model is a reasonable approximation. A parameter sensitivity study is also presented, showing good agreement between theoretical predictions and the results of a full-factorial numerical exploration of model outputs. Model simulation demonstrates the emergence of the shape memory effect, an important SMA behavior not shown by Chen and Schuh, along with the expected superelastic effect and thermal hysteresis. Further exploration of simulated model outputs presented in this work involves comparison with experimental data and predicted output values obtained from a separate phenomenological constitutive model. This comparison shows that the kMC–FEA method is capable of reproducing qualitative, but not yet quantitative, responses of real SMA material systems. Discussion of each model parameter and its effects on the behavior of the model are presented as guidelines for future studies of SMA materials. A complete implementation of the method is contained in a new finite element software package (ScIFEN) that is available for future

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