Static and dynamic behaviour of composite structures with shape memory alloy components

In this work selected results have been presented for the static and dynamic behaviour of composite beams, plates, and rotors, all fitted with integral SMA wires or strips. Changes in the static deflections, natural frequencies and critical loads, natural modes, amplitudes of forced vibration, and stress distributions, have all been investigated. Applications of the Active Property Tuning (APT) method and the Active Strain Energy Tuning (ASET) method have been proposed, and the finite element method (FEM) has been used to calculate the static and dynamic responses of these structures. Along with the authors' bespoke programs, two FEM commercial packages PATRAN and ABAQUS have been applied to obtain the relevant data. The ultimate intention is to use embedded SMAs within a composite structure as an actuator for the control of rotor vibration.