Study on thermo-mechanical behaviors of shape memory alloy torsion tube

Abstract

Shape memory alloy (SMA) tube is an perfect candidate used to design the torsion actuator in the self-adaptive wings. In this paper, the thermo-mechanical property of SMA torsion thin-walled tube is investigated based on Zhou's threedimensional constitutive model of SMA, which include the three-dimensional phase transformation equation and the three-dimensional mechanical constitutive equation, and material mechanics. The phase transformation equation describing the relationship between torque and martensitic volume fraction of SMA torsion thin-walled tube is established based on Zhou's three-dimensional phase transformation of SMA. The mechanical equation is established to express the relationship of torque, temperature and torsion angle of the SMA torsion thin-walled tube based on Zhou's three-dimensional mechanical constitutive equation and material mechanics. The thermo-mechanical behaviors of SMA torsion thin-walled tube are numerically simulated by using the established mechanical equation and phase transformation equation together. Numerical results show the established mechanical equation and phase transformation equation well predict the thermo-mechanical behaviors of SMA torsion thin-walled tube.