Stress analysis of shape memory alloy composites

Shape memory alloys (SMAs), when in the form of wires or short fibers, can be embedded into a host material to form SMA-composite for satisfying a wide variety of engineering requirements. Due to the weak interface strength between the SMA wire and the matrix, the interface debonding often happens when the SMA composites act by external force or actuation temperature or combination of them. It is, therefore, very important to understand the stress transfers between the SMA fibers and matrix and the distributions of internal stresses in the SMA composite in order to improve its properties. In this paper, a theoretical model incorporated with Brinson's constitutive law of SMA for the prediction of internal stresses has been successfully developed. The assumed stress functions which satisfy equilibrium equations in the fiber and matrix respectively and the principle of minimum complementary energy are utilized to analyze the internal stress distributions during fiber pull-out and/or thermal loading processes. The complete axisymmetric states of stresses in the SMA fiber and matrix have been developed. A finite element analysis has been also conducted to compare with the theoretical results.