Othmane Benafan

Role of B19′ martensite deformation in stabilizing two-way shape memory behavior in NiTi

Deformation of a B19′ martensitic, polycrystalline Ni49.9Ti50.1 (at. %) shape memory alloy and its influence on the magnitude and stability of the ensuing two-way shape memory effect (TWSME) was investigated by combined ex situ mechanical experimentation and in situ neutron diffraction measurements at stress and temperature. The microstructural changes (texture, lattice strains, and phase fractions) during room-temperature deformation and subsequent thermal cycling were captured and compared to the bulk macroscopic response of the alloy. With increasing uniaxial strain, it was observed that B19′ martensite deformed by reorientation and detwinning with preferred selection of the (1¯50)M and (010)M variants, (201¯)B19′ deformation twinning, and dislocation activity. These mechanisms were indicated by changes in bulk texture from the neutron diffraction measurements. Partial reversibility of the reoriented variants and deformation twins was also captured upon load removal and thermal cycling, which after iso...

Standardization of shape memory alloy test methods toward certification of aerospace applications

The response of shape memory alloy (SMA) components employed as actuators has enabled a number of adaptable aero-structural solutions. However, there are currently no industry or government-accepted standardized test methods for SMA materials when used as actuators and their transition to commercialization and production has been hindered. This brief fast track communication introduces to the community a recently initiated collaborative and pre-competitive SMA specification and standardization effort that is expected to deliver the first ever regulatory agency-accepted material specification and test standards for SMA as employed as actuators for commercial and military aviation applications. In the first phase of this effort, described herein, the team is working to review past efforts and deliver a set of agreed-upon properties to be included in future material certification specifications as well as the associated experiments needed to obtain them in a consistent manner. Essential for the success of this project is the participation and input from a number of organizations and individuals, including engineers and designers working in materials and processing development, application design, SMA component fabrication, and testing at the material, component, and system level. Going forward, strong consensus among this diverse body of participants and the SMA research community at large is needed to advance standardization concepts for universal adoption by the greater aerospace community and especially regulatory bodies. It is expected that the development and release of public standards will be done in collaboration with an established standards development organization.

Design and implementation of a multiaxial loading capability during heating on an engineering neutron diffractometer

A gripping capability was designed, implemented, and tested for in situ neutron diffraction measurements during multiaxial loading and heating on the VULCAN engineering materials diffractometer at the spallation neutron source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The proposed capability allowed for the acquisition of neutron spectra during tension, compression, torsion, and/or complex loading paths at elevated temperatures. The design consisted of age-hardened, Inconel(®) 718 grips with direct attachment to the existing MTS load frame having axial and torsional capacities of 100 kN and 400 N·m, respectively. Internal cooling passages were incorporated into the gripping system for fast cooling rates during high temperature experiments up to ∼1000 K. The specimen mounting couplers combined a threaded and hexed end-connection for ease of sample installation/removal without introducing any unwanted loads. Instrumentation of this capability is documented in this work along with various performance parameters. The gripping system was utilized to investigate deformation in NiTi shape memory alloys under various loading/control modes (e.g., isothermal, isobaric, and cyclic), and preliminary results are presented. The measurements facilitated the quantification of the texture, internal strain, and phase fraction evolution in NiTi shape memory alloys under various loading/control modes.

A Shape Memory Alloy Controlled Heat Pipe Based Thermal Switch

This work reports on the design, fabrication and testing of a low temperature shape memory alloy thermal switch for meeting NASA’s thermal management needs on the surface of the moon. The switch is designed to provide on demand heat transfer to cool a liquid oxygen tank while the temperature of the surrounding space environment varies from 40 K to 400 K on the lunar surface. NiTiFe shape memory helical actuators are the sensing and actuating elements in the switch. Heat transfer is accomplished via heat acquisition, transport and rejection in a variable length heat pipe with pentane and R-134a as working fluids. The approach used to design the shape memory elements, quantify the heat transfer at both ends of the heat pipe and the pressures and stresses associated with the actuation are outlined. Testing of the switch is accomplished in a vacuum bell jar with instrumentation feedthroughs, using valves to control the flow of liquid nitrogen and heaters to simulate the temperature changes. Various performance parameters are measured and reported under both transient and steady-state conditions.© 2009 ASME

Thermomechanical behavior of NiTiPdPt high temperature shape memory alloy springs

Transformation strains in high temperature shape memory alloys (HTSMAs) are generally smaller than for conventional NiTi alloys and can be purposefully limited in cases where stability and repeatability at elevated temperatures are desired. Yet such alloys can still be used in actuator applications that require large strokes when used in the form of springs. Thus there is a need to understand the thermomechanical behavior of shape memory alloy spring actuators, particularly those consisting of alternative alloys. In this work, a modular test setup was assembled with the objective of acquiring stroke, stress, temperature, and moment data in real time during joule heating and forced convective cooling of Ni19.5Ti50.5Pd25Pt5 HTSMA springs. The spring actuators were subjected to both monotonic axial loading and thermomechanical cycling. The role of rotational constraints (i.e., by restricting rotation or allowing for free rotation at the ends of the springs) on stroke performance was also assessed. Finally, recognizing that evolution in the material microstructure can result in changes in HTSMA spring geometry, the effect of material microstructural evolution on spring performance was examined. This was done by taking into consideration the changes in geometry that occurred during thermomechanical cycling. This work thus provides insight into designing with HTSMA springs and predicting their thermomechanical performance.

SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY ACTUATOR DESIGN: CASMART COLLABORATIVE BEST PRACTICES

Upon examination of shape memory alloy (SMA) actuation designs, there are many considerations and methodologies that are common to them all. A goal of CASMART’s design working group is to compile the collective experiences of CASMART’s member organizations into a single medium that engineers can then use to make the best decisions regarding SMA system design. In this paper, a review of recent work toward this goal is presented, spanning a wide range of design aspects including evaluation, properties, testing, modeling, alloy selection, fabrication, actuator processing, design optimization, controls, and system integration. We have documented each aspect, based on our collective experiences, so that the design engineer may access the tools and information needed to successfully design and develop SMA systems. Through comparison of several case studies, it is shown that there is not an obvious single, linear route a designer can adopt to navigate the path of concept to product. SMA engineering aspects will have different priorities and emphasis for different applications.Copyright

Engineering Design Tools for Shape Memory Alloy Actuators: CASMART Collaborative Best Practices and Case Studies

The primary goal of the Consortium for the Advancement of Shape Memory Alloy Research and Technology (CASMART) is to enable the design of revolutionary applications based on shape memory alloy (SMA) technology. In order to help realize this goal and reduce the development time and required experience for the fabrication of SMA actuation systems, several modeling tools have been developed for common actuator types and are discussed herein along with case studies, which highlight the capabilities and limitations of these tools. Due to their ability to sustain high stresses and recover large deformations, SMAs have many potential applications as reliable, lightweight, solid-state actuators. Their advantage over classical actuators can also be further improved when the actuator geometry is modified to fit the specific application. In this paper, three common actuator designs are studied: wires, which are lightweight, low-profile, and easily implemented; springs, which offer actuation strokes upwards of 200 at reduced mechanical loads; and torque tubes, which can provide large actuation forces in small volumes and develop a repeatable zero-load actuation response (known as the two-way shape memory effect). The modeling frameworks, which have been implemented in the design tools, are developed for each of these frequently used SMA actuator types. In order to demonstrate the versatility and flexibility of the presented design tools, as well as validate their modeling framework, several design challenges were completed. These case studies include the design and development of an active hinge for the deployment of a solar array or foldable space structure, an adaptive solar array deployment and positioning system, a passive air temperature controller for regulation flow temperatures inside of a jet engine, and a redesign of the Corvette active hatch, which allows for pressure equalization of the car interior. For each of the presented case studies, a prototype or proof-of-concept was fabricated and the experimental results and lessons learned are discussed. This analysis presents a collection of CASMART collaborative best practices in order to allow readers to utilize the available design tools and understand their modeling principles. These design tools, which are based on engineering models, can provide first-order optimal designs and are a basic and efficient method for either demonstrating design feasibility or refining design parameters. Although the design and integration of an SMA-based actuation system always requires application- and environment-specific engineering considerations, common modeling tools can significantly reduce the investment required for actuation system development and provide valuable engineering insight.

In Situ Neutron Diffraction Study of NiTi–21Pt High-Temperature Shape Memory Alloys

In situ neutron diffraction was used to investigate the microstructural features of stoichiometric and Ti-rich NiTiPt high-temperature shape memory alloys with target compositions of Ni29Ti50Pt21 and Ni28.5Ti50.5Pt21 (in atomic percent), respectively. The alloys’ isothermal and thermomechanical properties (i.e., moduli, thermal expansion, transformation strains, and dimensional stability) were correlated to the lattice strains, volume-averaged elastic moduli, and textures as determined by neutron diffraction. In addition, the unique aspects of this technique when applied to martensitic transformations in shape memory alloys are highlighted throughout the paper.

Texture Evolution During Isothermal, Isostrain, and Isobaric Loading of Polycrystalline Shape Memory NiTi

In situ neutron diffraction was used to provide insight into martensite variant microstructures during isothermal, isobaric, and isostrain loading in shape memory NiTi. Results show variant microstructures were equivalent for the corresponding strain and more importantly, the reversibility and equivalency was immediately evident in variant microstructures that were first formed isobarically but then reoriented to a near random self-accommodated microstructure following isothermal deformation. Variant microstructures formed isothermally were not significantly affected by a subsequent thermal cycle under constant strain. In all loading cases considered, the resulting variant microstructure correlated with strain and did not correlate with stress. Based on the ability to select a variant microstructure for a given strain despite thermomechanical loading history, the results demonstrated here can be obtained by following any sequence of thermomechanical loading paths over multiple cycles. Thus for training shape memory alloys (repeating thermomechanical cycling to obtain the desired variant microstructure), optimal paths can be selected so as to minimize the number of training cycles required thereby increasing the overall stability and fatigue life of these alloys in actuator or medical applications.

Laser surface modification of medical grade alloys for reduced heating in a magnetic resonance imaging environment

Nanoscale surface modification of medical grade metallic alloys was conducted using a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser-based dopant diffusion technique. The objective of this approach was to minimize the induction heating by reducing the absorbed radio frequency field. Such an approach is advantageous in that the dopant is diffused into the alloy and is not susceptible to detachment or spallation as would an externally applied coating, and is expected to not deteriorate the mechanical and electrical properties of the base alloy or device. Experiments were conducted using a controlled environment laser system with the ability to control laser properties (i.e., laser power, spot size, and irradiation time) and dopant characteristics (i.e., temperature, concentration, and pressure). The reflective and transmissive properties of both the doped and untreated samples were measured in a radio frequency (63.86 MHz) magnetic field using a system comprising a high power signal generator, a localized magnetic field source and sensor, and a signal analyzer. The results indicate an increase in the reflectivity of the laser-treated samples compared to untreated samples. The effect of reflectivity on the heating of the alloys is investigated through a mathematical model incorporating Maxwells equations and heat conduction.