Shape memory alloys (SMAs) offer an attractive way to build adaptive structures as their shape changes and remembered their shape under the applied external stimuli. The adaptive composite structures embedded with SMA wires have been developed using the hand layup process. In this work, the experimental investigation of the actuation behaviour of the SMA-based adaptive composite structures was carried out. This is achieved by imposing external active and passive heating. To investigate the actuation behaviour of the SMA-based adaptive composite structure different diameters of SMA wires and their configurations were considered. Based on the trial experiments, a voltage of 6 V, a heating time of 5 s, and a cooling time of 18 s have been optimized for electrical heating. These heating conditions were used for all the thermomechanical analysis of SMA-based adaptive composite structures and all the samples were tested for multiple cycles of heating and cooling. The maximum deflection of 14 mm was observed for the composite structure embedded with four SMA wires of 0.5 mm diameter. Our fundamental study highlights the possibility of using SMA-based adaptive structures in electromechanical systems such as actuators and sensors.

形状记忆合金 (SMA) 提供了一种有吸引力的方式来构建自适应结构，因为它们的形状发生变化并在施加的外部刺激下记住它们的形状。嵌入了 SMA 线的自适应复合结构是使用手糊工艺开发的。在这项工作中，对基于 SMA 的自适应复合结构的驱动行为进行了实验研究。这是通过施加外部主动和被动加热来实现的。为了研究基于 SMA 的自适应复合结构的驱动行为，考虑了不同直径的 SMA 线及其配置。基于试验实验，优化了电加热电压为6 V、加热时间为5 s、冷却时间为18 s。这些加热条件用于基于 SMA 的自适应复合结构的所有热机械分析，并且所有样品都经过多次加热和冷却循环测试。对于嵌入四根直径为 0.5 毫米的 SMA 线的复合结构，观察到的最大挠度为 14 毫米。我们的基础研究强调了在执行器和传感器等机电系统中使用基于 SMA 的自适应结构的可能性。