Abstract
Abstract Active hybrid composites are gaining significance in various industrial and medical applications. These composites can include the integration of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires and fibre-reinforced plastics at material level and have the ability to undergo large deformations while activated. Typical applications are aerodynamic components such as car spoilers or wing profiles of an aircraft. Most applications often follow a partially integrated or modular shape memory alloy hybrid composite (SMAHC) design. In this paper, we pursue the approach of a fully integrated construction of an SMAHC. Therefore, we introduce two different designs of flexible interlayer of a 4D printed SMAHC by using the 3D stereolithography process. Achieving direct integration of SMA’s into plastic matrices requires the matrix material to possess adequate flexibility, as the SMA's thermal phase transformation process can accommodate elongation of up to 8%. Moreover, it is imperative to ensure that the process temperatures of the chosen manufacturing method remain below the austenite start temperature (As) to prevent inadvertent activation of the SMA during fabrication.
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