An experimental investigation of shape memory alloy springs for passive vibration isolation

Abstract

Presented in this work are the results of an experimental investigation into the use of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA), specifically springs made of SMA, as vibration isolation devices. The basis of this investigation is the similarity between the pseudoelastic response of SMAs and the response of a conventional elastomeric buckling isolation device. For this investigation, an experiment to determine the effectiveness of these SMA springs was developed and several series of tests were conducted. Results of these tests indicate that the pseudoelastic response of Shape Memory Alloys can be used to reduce both the resonant frequency and the resonant amplitude of a dynamic system. Additionally, it is shown here that the resonant frequency of a dynamic system with SMAs can be tailored by manipulating the region of the pseudoelastic response in which the SMA springs operate.