Development of an Interactive Shape Memory Alloy Experiment for smart materials curricula
G. Song and R. Bannerot
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA
E-mail: gsong@uh.edu
Abstract: This paper presents the development of an interactive Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) experiment. The hands-on experiment was developed to introduce SMA to students interested in smart materials and engineering students who may encounter them in their studies. The apparatus is also used as a teaching tool for smart materials courses. The experiment is designed to demonstrate the basic operations of SMA and its common applications. The interactive experiment features two independent experiments with associated control buttons and dials, housed in a clear acrylic display case for easy visualization. The display features 1) An SMA wire weight lifter used to demonstrate the forces exerted by the SMA wire undergoing transformation and 2) an SMA wire actuated flexible beam which shows how a system can be actuated by an SMA wire. The experiment is fully autonomous and has been used in the University of Houston as a teaching tool and outreach device. Through student evaluation, the experiment has been shown to be an effective tool in assisting students to learn about SMA.
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