Thermo-viscoelastic bending analysis of a shape memory alloy hybrid epoxy beam

The deflection of an epoxy beam with embedded shape memory alloy (SMA) wires subjected to lateral load is predicted based on the thermo-viscoelastic finite-element analysis for the beam. The emphasis has been placed on the effect of thermo-viscoelasticity of the polymeric matrix, The SMA wires, which are located at the neutral surface of the beam, are embedded inside the sleeves and fixed externally at two ends. In this study the classical theory is applied for the beam analysis and Brinson's constitutive relation is used for the SMA. Experiments of SMA hybrid epoxy beam are conducted and the results compare well with the theory.