Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410

www.elsevier.com/locate/commatsci

Non-isothermal finite element modeling of a

shape memory alloy actuator using ANSYS
P. Terriault *, F. Viens, V. Brailovski
Mechanical Engineering Department, École de technologie supérieure, Université du Québec, 1100 Notre-Dame Street West,
Montreal, Que., Canada H3C 1K3

Received 8 October 2004; received in revised form 22 March 2005; accepted 30 May 2005

Abstract

Many applications involve actuated devices made of shape memory alloys, but the lack of efficient numerical tools hinders the
development of such technologies. Software using a finite element method like ANSYS allows the user to predict complex responses
of a system without extensive programming. In this paper, a homemade phenomenological 1D bilinear model is programmed
through the USERMAT procedure in ANSYS. The model allows the representation of both mechanical and thermal hystereses.
The martensitic transformation is controlled by transformation criteria similar to those used in conventional plasticity, and subcy-
cles are modeled by a simple elastic return through the hysteresis. The model is validated through isothermal tensile testing, assisted
two-way shape memory testing and stress generation testing, and a good agreement with experimental results is shown. Finally, ther-
momechanical response of a single-degree-of-freedom actuator is simulated as a typical application and a case study involving the
shape change of a radio controlled aircraft wing shows the potential of the numerical simulations.
Ó 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PACS: 62.20.F; 81.30.K; 02.70.D

Keywords: Shape memory alloys; Superelasticity; Finite element method; ANSYS; Actuator; Hysteresis

1. Introduction gripper [3] or a pressure regulator for a miniature robot

Shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators cover a large
number of applications and address many fields, such
as medicine where miniaturization is a key issue. SMAs
offer an advantage over actuators like piezoelectric, sole-
noid, magnetostrictive, thermal bimetals or wax actua-
tors since they are characterized by a very high energy
density (1–5 J/cm3) and a high step type maximum
stroke (up to 8% of length) [1]. Possible applications in-
clude a body implanted drug-delivery system [2], flexible
* tional time for a classical engineering design purpose.
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 514 396 8518; fax: +1 514 396
8530.
E-mail address: patrick.terriault@etsmtl.ca (P. Terriault).
[4]. Design of such systems, including SMA actuators,
rely on the development of SMA models that predict
the complex response of the material to a given thermo-
mechanical loading. SMA models can be categorized in
three main groups: micromechanical, thermodynamic
and phenomenological constitutive models. Micro-
mechanical models try to relate the microstructure of
the alloy to its macroscopic behavior by modeling the
physical phenomena involved in the phase transforma-
tion. Known authors on this topic are, among others,
Likatchev and Malinin [5] and Patoor et al. [6]. How-
ever, the model tends to be rather greedy on computa-
Thermodynamic models describe the macroscopic
behavior of the material while using a series of material

0927-0256/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.commatsci.2005.05.010
398 P. Terriault et al. / Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410
constants related to the thermodynamics of the phase
transformation (enthalpy, entropy, etc.) that can
sometimes be difficult to measure. Many authors have
developed thermodynamic models [7–10]. Finally,
phenomenological models use macroscopic properties
that can be obtained by simple tensile testing at different
temperatures. Furthermore, they are usually easily
implemented in finite element software. A very general
approach has been developed by Terriault et al. [11]
by using dual kriging as an interpolation technique,
but their model remains heavy and greedy on computa-
tional time. Bilinear models represent another phenom-
enological way to describe SMA behavior by the use of
several and easily obtainable material parameters [12–
14]. The model used in this paper is based on the bilinear
approach in which some thermomechanical aspects are
introduced in order to take into account the effect of
temperature variations.
Even if SMA models are available, it can be difficult
to design a new shape memory application if no finite
element software is used. Many finite element software
are commercially available on the market. They are
extensively used to simulate the response of structures
subjected to mechanical and/or thermal loads, and this,
for several types of material behavior, such as pure elas-
ticity, elasto-plasticity or creep. Unfortunately, the
general and complex behavior of shape memory alloys
(superelasticity, shape memory effect, etc.) has not yet
been implemented in commercially available finite
element programs. Therefore, when a finite element
analysis is needed to predict the response of shape mem-
ory structures or devices, three approaches are available:
(a) using a commercially available software and by a ser-
ies of assumptions, trying to mimic the behavior of a
SMA by a material law already implemented in the pro-
gram, (b) implementing a user-programmed model with
a commercially available software, or (c) programming
both the finite element algorithms and the constitutive
relation from scratch.
The first approach, which consists in representing the
behavior of a shape memory alloy through another type
of material law already programmed in a commercially
available finite element program, is very restrictive.
For example, if the response of a shape memory struc-
ture must only be calculated during a loading, a multi-
linear elasticity could be used. The results would only
be valid for the particular loading. Indeed, the unload-
ing would follow the same path as that calculated
for the loading, and the hysteresis would be neglected.
Pelton et al. [15] used a similar technique when they
represented the superelastic behavior of a shape memory
alloy by the hyperelasticity theory programmed within
the commercially available finite element software ABA-
QUS. They managed to calculate the bending of a NiTi
tube exclusively during loading. The exact same tech-
nique was used by Perry and Chang [16] to calculate
the behavior of a superelastic stent. Whitcher [17]
decided to use the elasto-plastic model programmed
within the commercially available software ADINA to
calculate the mechanical response of a stent. The author
stated that the elasto-plastic material law is a good alter-
native to the hyperelasticity theory used by Pelton et al.
[15] because of the difficulty of obtaining an adequate fit
to the superelastic stress–strain data. The commercially
available finite element software ANSYS has also been
used for in calculating superelastic medical devices.
For instance, Frank et al. [18] used the multi-linear
model of ANSYS to represent the stress–strain loading
curve of a NiTi alloy for the calculation of the maximum
strain reached during the opening of a shape memory
suture clip. Also, Hempowitz et al. [19] calculated the
superelastic response of NiTi orthodontic archwires by
defining several multi-linear curves in ANSYS that were
activated as needed to simulate the hysteresis. Generally
speaking, this first approach is very restrictive, and it
will soon be practically avoided because more powerful
numerical tools are now available to users of finite
element programs.
The second approach still uses a commercially avail-
able finite element software, but it benefits from their
ability to implement a user-programmed material law.
That is the case of ABAQUS, where a user material sub-
routine called UMAT can be implemented. Rebelo et al.
[20] implemented the model of Auricchio and Taylor
[21] that simulates the superelastic behavior of a shape
memory alloy with the hysteresis and the dissymmetry
between tension and compression. They managed to
experimentally simulate and validate the superelastic
response of complex geometries such as stents. For the
calculation of superelastic devices, Pease and Walsh
[22] demonstrated the benefits of using the technique
developed by Rebelo et al. [20], compared to that using
other types of material laws (elastic material model, elas-
to-plastic material model and hyperelastic material
model). Gong et al. [23] applied this methodology for
the prediction of the performance of a stent by calculat-
ing and experimentally validating its radial and resistive
forces. Rebelo et al. [24] moved the development of user-
defined material laws implemented with ABAQUS
along by considering the plasticity of NiTi alloys in their
superelastic regime. They validated the loss of properties
due to plasticity by a series of experiments performed on
a diamond-shaped structure subjected to fatigue. Peul-
tier et al. [25] also implemented a user-defined material
within ABAQUS. They managed to simulate the super-
elastic response and the shape memory recovery of
structures. Finally, the commercially available finite
element program ANSYS has implemented in their
material library the superelastic behavior of shape mem-
ory alloys. The model based on the Auricchio algorithm
[26] considers the hysteresis and the asymmetry between
tension and compression. Barrett and Burpee [27]
 P. Terriault et al. / Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410
demonstrated the benefits of the superelastic material
law implemented in ANSYS for the optimization of a
stentÕs performance.
The third approach involves programming everything
from the finite element numerical algorithms to the
material laws. Several authors have adopted such an ap-
proach, and the works of a few of them are briefly de-
scribed in the sequel. Rio et al. [28] programmed a
finite element procedure especially adapted to the anal-
ysis of three-dimensional shape memory plates subjected
to bending. In their formulation, they implemented an
elastohysteresis constitutive law in order to consider
the pseudo-plastic and superelastic behavior of SMAs.
Unfortunately, there methodology is limited to the
analysis of plates. Meanwhile, Trochu and Qian [29]
implemented a bilinear model in a finite element
formulation for the calculation of beams or axisymmet-
rical objects in the superelastic regime. An experimental
validation showed the potential of the approach, even if
it was limited to superelastic two-dimensional beams.
Nevertheless, Trochu and Terriault [30] used this numer-
ical tool to calculate the behavior of a superelastic stent.
In order to obtain a more versatile tool, Terriault and
Trochu [31,32] developed a three-dimensional finite ele-
ment formulation that can be implemented with several
material laws. The three-dimensional formulation
enables the simulation of any complex geometry, and
the implementation with a phenomenological model [11]
enables the simulation at different temperatures and
regimes, such as superelasticity, shape memory effect,
pseudo-plasticity, etc. In Terriault and Trochu [33], the
finite element program has been used to calculate the
performances of shape memory medical devices such
as superelastic stents and shape memory bone staples.
Finally, Auricchio and Taylor [34] developed a three-
dimensional finite element formulation for the super-
elastic regime of shape memory alloys. They validated
their formulation for four-point bending experiments,
and applied their methodology to simulate the behavior
of a superelastic stents. Auricchio and Sacco [35]
enlarged the formulation to take into account some
temperature-dependent regimes, such as the shape mem-
ory effect. The experimental validation is realized
through a three-point bending experiment, and they
applied their formulation to simulate the response of
an orthodontic wire and a two-way linear mechanism.
Finally, the authors believe that the second approach
(implementation of a user-programmed model with a
commercially available software) is the one that offers
the most advantages for the development of new shape
memory applications. Unfortunately, with ANSYS,
the AuricchioÕs model [26] implemented in the latest re-
leases (release 8.0 and up) is limited to an isothermal
loading [36], which is useless for the analysis of an
actuator activated by temperature variation. The
current paper suggests an easy way to implement within
399
ANSYS a non-isothermal superelastic model to simulate
temperature-activated SMA wire actuators.
2. Description of the model
The model used here is a bilinear one that simulates
the superelastic behavior of SMA. As suggested by Mul-
ler and Xu [12] in the early Ô90s, a series of straight lines
represent the elastic behavior of austenite and martens-
ite as well as the phase transformation (Fig. 1). The
material law is implemented through an algorithm pro-
grammed with the USERMAT procedure [37,38]. The
interaction between the material law and the rest of
the program is roughly as follows: ANSYS suggests a
deformation state and the material law returns the asso-
ciated stress state. Properties of the material law are
supplied by the user directly through the Graphical User
Interface or an external text file. Five material properties
per temperature are needed to define each curve of the
bilinear model. Properties between these temperatures
are linearly interpolated by ANSYS. The ‘‘input’’ or
independent properties are: elastic modulus of austenite
(EA), direct transformation modulus (Etd), martensite
start transformation stress (rMs), martensite finish trans-
formation stress (rMf) and austenite start transforma-
tion stress (rAs). Related or dependant properties are:
elastic modulus of martensite (EM), inverse transforma-
tion modulus (Eti), maximum strain in the transforma-
tion zone (etrmax) and austenite finish transformation
stress (rAf). Elastic modulus of austenite and martensite,
direct and inverse transformation moduli as well as the
maximum strain in the transformation zone must be
constant at all temperatures. The model defines three
σ
ε trmax
σMf
σMs Etd
EM
EA
σAs
Eti
σAf
ε
Fig. 1. Material properties for the bilinear phenomenological model.
400 P. Terriault et al. / Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410

zones of transformation: elastic zone, direct transforma- (this approach has previously been used by Trochu
tion zone and inverse transformation zone (Fig. 2). and Qian [29]). Direct transformation occurs when the
Subcycles are considered as simple elastic return. The stress is above the direct transformation stress ryd
direct transformation zone is limited to the line between (rMs 6 ryd < rMf). Inverse transformation occurs when
rMs and rMf (Fig. 2(b)). The inverse transformation the stress is under the inverse transformation stress ryi
zone is limited to the line between rAs and rAf (rAf < ryi 6 rAs). These stresses are calculated at the
(Fig. 2(c)). All other possible paths are strictly elastic. beginning of a time increment:
The manner in which the subcycles are managed repre- 
ryd ¼ rMs þ  etrLM Etd ; ð1Þ
sents a simplification of the experimental behavior of  
SMAs, but the calculated results are still quite accurate. ryi ¼ rAf þ etrLM Etd ; ð2Þ
In this model, transformation occurs the same way as 
where etrLM is the strain in the transformation zone.
plastification would take place for a ductile material Note that the superscript  indicates that the value of
a parameter is known at the beginning of a time incre-
ment. Also, etrLM is only used to ease the calculations
σ
and must not be confused with the real transformation
deformation etrans because etrLM includes both elastic
εtrLM
and phase transformation components of the total
σMf strain.
Just as the deformation of a ductile material beyond
σMs σyd
yield stress includes two mechanisms (elastic and plastic
EA strains), the deformation of an SMA during the progres-
σAs
σAf sion of the phase transformation is decomposed in two
σyi components, namely the elastic and the phase transfor-
mation strains (see Fig. 3):
εtrLM
e ¼ etrans þ eelas ; ð3Þ
ε
(a)
etrans is directly related to etrLM and can be computed by
the following:
σ
etrans ¼ facH  etrLM ; ð4Þ
εtrLM where facH is adapted from Bathe [39] as follows:
Etd
σMf

σMs σyd

σAs
σAf
σ
σyi Δεelas
Δεtrans

ε σ
(b)
B
Δσ Etd
A
σ -σ

Δε=ΔεtrLM
σMf EA

σMs σyd

σAs
σAf
Etd
σyi
ε
εtrLM εtrans εelas
ε
(c) ε

Fig. 2. (a) Elastic zones, (b) direct transformation zone, (c) inverse Fig. 3. Contribution of elastic strain and transformation strain for a
transformation zone. given stress increment in the transformation zone.
 P. Terriault et al. / Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410 401
 
EA ment (De) in an iterative algorithm internally managed
facH ¼ 1 . ð5Þ
Etd by ANSYS. After the completion of the iterative pro-
cess, the next equilibrium state (point B of Fig. 3) is ob-
Elastic strain (eelas) is simply obtained by
tained. If the direct transformation occurs, which is the
eelas ¼ r=EA . ð6Þ case illustrated in Fig. 3, the strain increment of the
From a previous equilibrium state (point A of Fig. 3), a transformation zone is given by
material law must be able to calculate the stress incre-
ment (Dr) corresponding to a given total strain incre- DetrLM ¼ ðrtrial   ryd Þ=EA ; ð7Þ

Fig. 4. Algorithm of the 1D phenomenological bilinear material law.

402 P. Terriault et al. / Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410

where ryd is the previous direct transformation stress Lastly, the strain in the transformation zone is updated
(point A) and rtrial is the trial stress at the end of a time through
increment calculated by etrLM ¼  etrLM þ DetrLM . ð10Þ

rtrial ¼ r þ EA De. ð8Þ The new transformation stresses are then calculated by
If the inverse transformation occurs, the strain incre- Eqs. (11) and (12):
ment of the transformation zone is given by ryd ¼ rMs þ etrLM Etd ; ð11Þ
DetrLM ¼ ðrtrial   ryi Þ=EA . ð9Þ ryi ¼ rAf þ etrLM Etd . ð12Þ

Fig. 5. Characterization and validation equipment: (a) general overview of the test bench, (b) displacement control configuration and (c) constant
load configuration.
 P. Terriault et al. / Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410 403

In the elastic zone, the stress is calculated directly by 3. Characterization

r ¼ rtrial . ð13Þ
Characterization is carried out with a thermally con-
In the direct transformation zone, the stress is calculated trolled bath filled with a half-and-half solution of ethyl-
by ene-glycol and water, a homemade tensile test machine,
r ¼ ryd ð14Þ a data acquisition system including a computer with a
Labview interface, two voltage sources and a connector
and in the inverse transformation zone by box (Fig. 5). The bath is used to vary the test tempera-
r ¼ ryi . ð15Þ ture from 30 to 80 °C.
The formulation for a mixed deformation (from an elas-
tic zone to a transformation zone and vice versa) is omit-
ted for the sake of conciseness, but it is based on a
400
contribution from each type of deformation. The gen-
eral algorithm of the material law is shown in Fig. 4. 350

300

250

Force (N)
200

150

100 Experimental
50 data
Model
0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
(a) Displacement (mm)

250

200
Force (N)

150

Fig. 6. Bilinear superelastic curves versus temperature. 100

Experimental
data
50 Model

0
800 25 45 65 85
(b) Temperature (°C)
700
σMs 3.0
600
Transformation stress (MPa)

σMf 2.5 2
Displacement (mm)

500
2.0 1
400
1.5 4
300 σAs 3
1.0
200 σAf
0.5
Experimental data Model
100
0.0
30 40 50 60 70 80
0 (c) Temperature (°C)
30 40 50 60 70 80
Temperature (Celsius) Fig. 8. (a) Tensile testing at 55 °C; (b) stress generation at
30 °C ! 80 °C ! 30 °C; (c) assisted two-way shape memory at
Fig. 7. Transformation stresses versus temperature. 30 °C ! 80 °C ! 30 °C.
404 P. Terriault et al. / Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410

The tensile machine has two different configurations. the medium. Nevertheless, special care was taken to
The displacement control configuration is used to carry use a slow strain rate anyway (approximately 0.003 s1).
out tensile and stress recovery tests. The constant load The characterization of the material consists of
configuration is used to carry out the assisted two-way obtaining a series of isothermal stress–strain curves at
shape memory tests. The displacement, force and tem- different temperatures ranging from 30 to 80 °C. Linear-
perature are respectively measured by an LVDT ization of the curves is shown in Fig. 6. For all temper-
(Trans-TekÕs model 0244-000), a load cell (model atures, EA = 32 000 MPa, Etd = 1300 MPa and etrmax =
60001-750 from Intertechnology Inc.) and a type K ther- 0.0385 values are used. The values of the transformation
mocouple. The thermal bath is from Polyscience (model stresses can be found in Fig. 7. The measured slopes
9710). of the phase transformation lines range from 6 to
The sample used for the material characterization is a 8 MPa/°C, values that are consistent with the literature
wire (0.71 mm diameter and 49.5 mm long) made from a [1].
superelastic alloy supplied by Special Metals Corp.
(New Hartford, NY, USA). The chemical weight com-
position is 55.92% titanium and 44.06% nickel. The wire 4. Validation of the model
is originally cold drawn at 40%. Afterwards, the wire is
heat-treated for 1 h at 400 °C, quenched in iced water The model is validated through three tests: tensile
and cycled 100 times before its characterization to test, stress generation and two-way assisted shape mem-
ensure stabilization of properties (Af  3 °C). Strain rate ory. Element LINK180 of ANSYS is used with constant
is found to be of no significant influence because of section option (KEYOPT(2) = 1) and temperature is ap-
the size of the wire and good thermal exchanges with plied uniformly (BFUNIF). Large displacement formu-
lation is used (NLGEOM = ON).
The tensile test is performed at a temperature of
55 °C to approximately 6.5% of strain. Straining
includes a complete cycle followed by one partial
loading and one partial unloading. Fig. 8(a) shows a
Spring
good agreement of the model with experimental data.
Partial loading and unloading differ slightly because of
the simplification of subcycles in the model. Experi-
mental data shows a small hysteresis on the elastic
zone, which is not predicted by the model. Finally, the
Stopper

NiTi Wire A B C

Force Force
SMA wire
Free Length Preconstrained
Cooling
Fig. 9. Diagram of the SMA wire actuator with its bias spring. D E
Heating

Fig. 11. Schematic functioning of a SMA actuated airplane wing.

6 100
1
5 90
Table 1
Displacement (mm)

2 80
4 Displacement Material properties for the SMA constitutive model
Force (N)

6 70 Property Value at Value at

3
3 0 °C (MPa) 100 °C (MPa)
4 60
5
Elastic modulus 32 000 32 000
2
50 of austenite (EA)
6 Force 3 Direct transformation 1600 1600
1 40 modulus (Etd)
2
1 Martensite start 320 1120
0 30 transformation stress (rMs)
20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Martensite finish 400 1200
Temperature (°C) transformation stress (rMf)
Austenite start 200 1000
Fig. 10. Displacement of the SMA wire and force versus temperature
transformation stress (rAs)
for a spring and SMA wire actuator.
 P. Terriault et al. / Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410 405

simplification EM = EA induces errors on the right part weight was modeled by one force during heating and
of the curve. by a different one during cooling. This simplification
The stress generation test (displacement control con- of the force/temperature path is responsible for the mis-
figuration in Fig. 5) is performed by applying approxi- match of the displacement calculated by the model after
mately 3% of deformation to the sample (half way on temperature cycling (beginning of step 2 compared to
the direct transformation slope) and then varying the end of step 3 at Fig. 8(c)). Nevertheless, the tempera-
temperature of the bath from 30 to 80 °C and back to tures at which the onset of the displacement of the actu-
30 °C. During temperature variations, the strain is kept ator occurs are approximately the same for the model
constant. Fig. 8(b) shows no force generation for the and the experiment. Displacements are slightly larger
model until the temperature is raised up to around for the experimental data at low temperature due to
52 °C. Beyond that temperature, the force rises to reach the elastic hysteresis that is not taken into account in
a maximum at 80 °C. Experimental data shows a steady the model at the end of direct transformation.
rise from 30 to 80 °C and a higher stress (or force) gen-
eration than the one predicted by the model. Constant
force followed by a decrease is also observed during
cooling compared to a steady decrease for experimental
data. The differences between experimental data and
finite element calculations are due to the simplification
of subcycles management in the model.
The assisted two-way shape memory test (constant
load configuration in Fig. 5) is performed by applying
a constant load on the sample (reaching the end of direct
transformation in this case) and then varying the tem-
perature of the bath from 30 to 80 °C and back to
30 °C. Unfortunately, the friction of the linear bearing
induces a reaction force so that a constant load could
not be assured. The simulation was adapted to stay close Fig. 13. Calculated profiles of the wing when the SMA wires are at rest
to such experimental conditions. Indeed, the dead (upper part) and heated (lower part).

Fig. 12. Finite element mesh.

406 P. Terriault et al. / Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410

5. ANSYS simulation of an actuator test a radio controlled aircraft that can take off and land
while carrying the maximum cargo. At Ecole de Tech-
Many applications benefit from an SMA actuator nologie Superieure (Montreal, Canada), a bunch of stu-
coupled with a bias spring [40]. In such cases, it becomes dents examined the possibility to use shape memory
difficult to predict the response of the actuator due to wires to change the shape of the aircraftÕs wings. The
the mechanical coupling between the SMA wire and idea is to have a cambered profile during takeoff in order
the conventional spring. For this simulation, an SMA to maximize the lift and a ‘‘flat’’ profile during the flight
wire is attached to a bias spring and a stopper limits so that the drag is minimized. Fig. 11 describes one of
the maximum stroke of the actuator (see Fig. 9). Ini- the possible ways to achieve this goal. A highly cam-
tially, both spring and wire are stretched and afterwards, bered wing made of an elastic material (Fig. 11(A)) is
the temperature is varied in order to provoke the dis-
placement of the actuator. The results for this simula-
tion consist of the calculation of the force generated
by the SMA wire as well as the displacement of the
wire–spring junction.
Both spring and SMA wire have a free length of
100 mm and are pre-stretched to 110 and 105 mm
respectively prior to the temperature variations. The
conventional spring has a constant stiffness of
k = 4040 N/mm. The SMA wire is 0.1 mm of diameter
and uses the same material properties as those previ-
ously presented, but here, only the properties at 30
and 80 °C were used as input (linear interpolation is per-
formed by ANSYS for properties between these
temperatures).
Fig. 10 shows the evolution of the displacement and
force generated by the actuator with respect to the tem-
perature. Six regions are identified and represented in
Fig. 10 by the arrows. Beginning at 30 °C, the actuator
is heated (arrow 1) and neither displacement nor force
variation are generated. From 54 to 67 °C, the SMA
wire starts to regain its initial length and a force that in-
creases at a rate of approximately 0.53 N/°C is gener-
ated (arrow 2). From 67 to 80 °C, the actuator reaches
its maximum stroke because the stopper limits the con-
traction of the SMA wire, but the force continues to
increase at a rate of 0.72 N/°C (arrow 3).
At the beginning of the cooling (arrow 4), the force
generated by the SMA wire is still greater than the reac-
tion force of the spring. The actuator remains in contact
with the stopper and the force generated by the SMA
wire is constant. From 62 to 47 °C (arrow 5), the force
gradually decreases at a rate of 0.59 N/°C, but the actu-
ator is still restricted by the stopper. When the temper-
ature reaches 47 °C, the reaction force of the spring is
larger than the force generated by the SMA wire and a
displacement is observed (arrow 6). The SMA wire is
then stretched by the spring and the force decreases at
a rate of 0.44 N/°C.

6. Case study

The Society of Automotive Engineers organizes the

Aero Design Competition in which undergraduate stu- Fig. 14. Stress–strain, strain–temperature and stress–temperature
dents are challenged to conceive, design, fabricate, and diagrams describing the material behavior in the SMA wire.
 P. Terriault et al. / Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410
flattened by an external force (Fig. 11(B)). A superelastic
SMA wire is then inserted in the structure (Fig. 11(C))
and stretched when the external force is released
(Fig. 11(D)). When the SMA wire is heated by an elec-
trical current for instance, it tends to recover its initial
length and the wing flattens (Fig. 11(E)). If the wire is
cooled down (interruption of the electrical current for
instance), the elastic strain energy of the structure is suf-
ficient to rearm the mechanism for a subsequent heating.
A finite element simulation using ANSYS has been
carried out in order to fix the dimensions of the SMA
wire and the wing itself. At the beginning, the chord
and thickness of the wing were set to 1 m and 0.24 m
respectively. The wing is made of a polyethylene flexible
skin (thickness of 5 mm) with the following material
properties: YoungÕs modulus E = 1000 MPa and Pois-
son ratio m = 0.3. Only a section 0.1 m is modeled for
the width of the wing. One SMA wire is introduced in
the analysis and its behavior follows the material law de-
scribes in this paper with the properties given in Table 1.
The finite element mesh shown in Fig. 12 is used and it
includes 1462 SHELL63 elements for the skin and one
LINK180 element for the SMA wire actuator. Also,
the displacements of two lines of nodes lying on the
extrados and intrados of the wing are blocked in order
to avoid any rigid body motion. These constraints sim-
ulate the attachment of the skin to the rigid structure
of the wing which is a composite cylinder (see Fig. 17
for example).
Fig. 15. Von Mises stress distribution in the flexible skin.
407
At 0 °C, the highly cambered wing is then flattened by
an external force and the SMA wire actuator is inserted
in the analysis. The ‘‘Birth & Death’’ capabilities of
ANSYS are used for this action. The force is then re-
leased and the equilibrium between the elastic behavior
of the wing and the SMA wire is established. A moder-
ately cambered geometry is then obtained. When the
wire is heated up to 100 °C, it contracts and the wing
is flattened. When the wire is cooled down back to
0 °C, the moderately cambered geometry is recovered.
Fig. 13 shows the difference between these two geome-
tries. When the wire is heated, the trailing edge of the
wing is raised 5.3 cm compared to the moderately cam-
bered geometry. Of course, the design could be further
optimized (positioning of the SMA wire, section of the
wire, etc.) in order to increase this deflection, but it is
not the goal of the simulation presented here. Fig. 14
presents the stress–strain, stress–temperature and
strain–temperature diagrams of the SMA wire. The
black dots designated by the letters C, D or E corre-
spond to the states schematized in Fig. 11. From these
results, it is clear that the contraction of the wire (de-
crease of strain from point D to E) is accompanied by
a large stress generation (increase of stress from point
D to E). It is also possible to visualize that the hysteresis
loop is not nor at constant temperature, stress or strain.
Finally, Fig. 15 gives an overview of the von Mises stress
distribution in the flexible skin when the wire is at
100 °C. These results show a very conservative design
408 P. Terriault et al. / Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410

Fig. 16. Prototype of the SMA actuated airplane wing.

Fig. 17. Profiles of the prototype when the SMA wires are at rest (upper part) and electrically heated (lower part).

for the skin since the maximum stress value (approxi-
mately 3 MPa) is well below its elastic limit of 28 MPa.
A SMA actuated wing prototype (Fig. 16) has been
built and tested by a few undergraduate students to
verify the feasibility of the technology. To avoid any
disclosure related to their proprietary wing design, the
finite element analysis previously presented do not
match the specifications of the prototype. The main
differences between the finite element analysis and the
prototype are (i) the SMA wires of the prototype rest
exclusively on the intrados of the wing and (ii) the skin
of the wing is made of a composite material reinforced
by a series of stiffeners and spacers. Details concerning
dimensions and material properties are voluntarily omit-
ted. Fig. 17 shows the shapes of the wing when the SMA
wires are at rest (upper part) and electrically heated
(lower part). It is clear that two different shapes of the
wing can be attained by using very compact actuators.
Other designs could be investigated in order to have a
flat wing at rest and a cambered geometry when the
SMA wires are heated. Such designs could reduce the
energy consumption since the duration of the flight (flat
shape needed) is longer than the duration of the landing
or takeoff (cambered shape needed).
7. Conclusion
A phenomenological 1D bilinear model with simple
elastic return for subcycles management is programmed
 P. Terriault et al. / Computational Materials Science 36 (2006) 397–410
through the USERMAT procedure of ANSYS, a well-
established finite element software. Both thermal and
mechanical hysterises of shape memory alloys are simu-
lated. The model is validated through different typical
loading cases, namely isothermal tensile testing, assisted
two-way shape memory testing and stress generation
testing. While the model is quite simple, it is shown that
such a numerical tool can be very useful in the design of
new applications involving SMA linear actuators.
Indeed, the complex non-linear response (force, stroke,
etc.) of a shape memory wire coupled to a bias spring
or installed in an elastic structure can be readily
predicted with ANSYS.
Acknowledgements
The work presented in this paper was supported by
the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
of Canada (Discovery Grant) and by Ecole de Tech-
nologie Superieure (postgraduated student grant to
F. Viens). The authors would like to thank Steven
Roy for the manufacturing and testing of the SMA
controlled aircraft wing prototype.
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