<p dir="ltr">Shape memory alloys (SMAs) belong to the category of smart materials due to their unique shape memory properties induced by a thermomechanically-triggered phase transformation. This phase changing process is also associated with a pronounced energy dissipation capacity. In recent years, the shape-recovery and energy-dissipating capabilities of SMAs have been object of extensive studies with particular focus on the opportunities they offer for the design of smart composites. The restoring stress of constrained SMAs as well as the modulus change, following thermal loading, can be leveraged to improve the static and dynamic performance, such as the pre/post-bulking behavior, the aerodynamic stability, and the impact resistance of composite materials embedded with SMA wires or fibers. The nonlinear damping resulting from the nonlinear material behavior associated with the ferro-elastic and pseudo-elastic phases was explored in a few studies focusing on vibration suppression in composites. Nonetheless, existing research mainly focused on either SMA wire or fiber reinforced composites, while the understanding of the dynamics of hybrid composites integrating SMA layers still presents several unexplored areas. In part, this technological gap might be explained by the fact that the most common SMA alloy, the so-called Nitinol, is expensive and hence not amenable to be deployed in large scale applications. With the most recent advancements in low-cost SMAs (e.g. Fe-based and Cu-based alloys), new applications that make more extensive use of SMAs are becoming viable. It follows that the understanding of the dynamic response of composites integrating SMA laminae becomes an important topic in order to support the development of innovative hybrid composite structures.</p><p dir="ltr">This dissertation explores the design and the nonlinear dynamic response of hybrid composites integrating SMA laminae, with a particular emphasis on the damping performance under different operating conditions. The dynamic properties of SMA monolithic beams and hybrid composite beams integrated with SMA laminae are investigated via one-dimensional constitutive models. Monolithic SMA beams are investigated to understand the fundamental aspects of the damping capacity of the material as well as possible bifurcation phenomena occurring under different types of harmonic excitations and different levels of pre-strain. The study then focuses on hybrid composite beams, highlighting the effects of design parameters, such the thickness, position, and pre-strain level of SMA layers on the transient and forced dynamic characteristics.</p><p dir="ltr">To further explore the potential of embedding SMA laminae to tailor the damping capacity of the hybrid composite and optimize the distribution of SMA materials, hybrid composite plates (HCPs) assembled by stacking fiber composites and SMA layers (either monolithic or patterned) are explored. The damping capacity of the HCP is assessed under different operating conditions, with emphasis on the effect of pre-strain levels in the SMA layers. The optimization study focuses on understanding the distribution of SMA materials and the synergistic role of patterning and pre-straining individual SMA layers within the HCP. The damping capacity of the HCP is also estimated as a function of the SMA total transformed volume fraction in order to identify the types of patterns and the pre-strain profiles capable of improving the overall damping capacity of the HCP.</p><p dir="ltr">The investigation on the dynamics of SMA hybrid composites continues with the optimal design of sandwich composite beams with elastic face sheets and SMA cellular cores. A deep learning-based surrogate model is proposed to efficiently predict the nonlinear mechanical response of the SMA sandwich beams subject to transverse loading, hence enabling the optimization of the SMA cellular core. The multi-objective optimization of the energy-dissipating capacity and of the overall stiffness is then performed by taking advantage of evolutionary algorithms. Once the optimal geometric parameters of the SMA cellular cores are obtained, finite element simulations are conducted to numerically validate the optimal configurations of the sandwich beams.</p><p dir="ltr">Finally, the numerical models are validated via experimental measurements conducted on monolithic SMA beams. Tests include both tensile and vibration measurements in both the ferro-elastic and pseudo-elastic regimes. The stress-strain relations obtained from tensile tests are used to calibrate the constitutive model of SMAs. Subsequently, experimental vibration tests are performed on clamped-clamped SMA beams to assess the effect of pre-strain levels on the damping capacity of SMA beams via a dedicated experimental setup to apply and maintain the pre-strain levels. The theoretical, numerical, and experimental results provided in this dissertation can serve as important guidelines to design lightweight SMA smart composites with customizable dynamic behavior.</p>