Shape Memory Alloy Hybrid Composite Plates for Shape and Stiffness Control

Shape memory alloy hybrid composite plates are `intelligent' structures whose shape or stiffness is actively modified by embedded shape memory alloy fibers. In this work, the behavior of such structures is investigated numerically and experimentally. A finite element model which separately represents the host structure and the fibers in a two-dimensional setting is proposed as a simple tool to predict the structural behavior in stiffness and shape control. The shape control configuration is used to validate the model experimentally since it is the most sensitive to the choice of the geometrical and mechanical model parameters.