Projects

Current Projects:
Characterization of SMAs
Fatigue and Fracture of SMAs
High Temperature SMAs (HTSMAs)
Magnetic SMAs
Non-Linear Vibration of SMA Systems
Porous SMAs
Space SMAs
SMA Model Development

Cryogenic Composites

Past Projects:
Compact SMA Actuators
CRCD
Dynamic SMAs
Multifunctional Materials
Smart Skin
SMA Actuators
  
Compact SMA Actuators
Compact SMA Actuator Presentation

Thermoelectric Cooling Based Compact SMA Actutors System

Project Sponsor: AFOSR/DARPA

Brief Description: Feasibility study on thermoelectric compact SMA actuator (TEC_SMA) to develop highly compact SMA actutor system, major tasks are:

Develop a Solid State TEC-SMA utilizing the Peltier effect.
Optimization of TEC-SMA output energy density, output power density and compactness.
Increase the bandwidth of SMA based actuators.

Students:
Mughees Khan

Fuel-Powered SMA Actuator System

Project Sponsor: AFOSR/DARPA

Brief Description: Feasibility study on fuel-powered compact SMA actuator (FPC_SMA) to develop highly compact SMA actutor system, major tasks are:

Design, fabricate and test highly compact Shape-Memory-Alloy (SMA)-based actuators that utilize the high energy density of fuels.
Optimization of FPC-SMA energy density, compactness and volumetric efficiency. Comparison with conventional actuator systems.
Implement modular design to allow for alternative energy sources including parasitic heat and electric systems.

Students:
Hyoung Yoll Jun

HIGHLY-COMPACT SMA ACTUATORS

Project Title: A Feasibility Study of Fuel-Powered and Thermoelectric SMA Actuators

Project Sponsor:

Brief Description:
The main goal of this project is to perform a feasibility study on Fuel-Powered and Thermoelectric Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) actuators to develop highly-compact SMA actuators. The specific objectives for the Fuel-Powered Compact (FPC) SMA actuator are given below:

1. Design, fabricate and test highly compact Shape-Memory-Alloy (SMA)-based actuators that utilize the high energy density of fuels.

2. Optimization of FPC-SMA energy density, compactness and volumetric efficiency. Comparison with conventional actuator systems.

3. Implement modular design to allow for alternative energy sources including parasitic heat and electric systems.

The objectives for the Thermoelectric Compact SMA Actuator (TEC-SMA) are given as:

1 .Develop a Solid State TEC-SMA utilizing the Peltier effect.

2. Optimization of TEC-SMA output energy density, output power density and compactness.
Increase the bandwidth of SMA based actuators.

Detailed Description

Students:
Rajagopal Pachalla