Additive Manufacturing of Smart Composite Structures Based on Flexinol Wires

3D printing of a composite structure with shape memory materials requires a special approach to the subject, at the stage of the design and printing process. This paper presents the design steps during the development of a 3D-printed composite structure with shape memory material. The connection points between the SMA fibers and the printer filament are developed in the MATLAB environment. Finite element method is used to simulate the shortening of the shape memory material under the influence of temperature and its effect on the printed polymer material is presented. In the MATLAB environment, evolutionary algorithms were used to determine the shape of the SMA fiber alignment. This work demonstrates the use of shape memory effect in 3D printed smart composite structures, where the component takes a predetermined shape. The structure obtained as a result of such printing changes with the heat generated by the current voltage, making it the desired fourth dimension.

Shape Memory Properties of Ti-Ni Shape Memory Alloy / Shape Memory Polymer Composites Using Additive Manufacturing

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) have the disadvantage that cooling is difficult and the actuating speed during cooling is slow. To resolve this problem, shape memory material actuators that operate only with heating is required. SMAs are characterized by a low apparent Young's modulus below the transformation temperature and a strong shape recovery force above the reverse transformation temperature. Alternatively, shape memory polymers (SMPs) have two properties: shape fixability and shape recovery. The SMPs are hardened below the glass transition (Tg) temperature and the material is recovered to memorized shape above the Tg temperature. The other hand, 3D printer is a machine that can directly output a 3D-designed product designed by a computer in 3D, and molded materials such as polymer, resin, metal, and ceramics. In this research, we developed the SMC of SMA wire and SMP sheet using adhesive that develops actuates into two shapes only by heating.