Multiscale isogeometric analysis of shape memory materials

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) belong to a class of smart materials, which have the ability to memorize, recover or retain their original shape after deformations. Due to their superior properties, nowadays the demand of using SMAs for technical application and engineering has been increased in several fields, such as industrial applications and consumer products, aerospace, biomedical, automotive, structures and composites, and even fashion industry. Hence, various researchers have used finite element method (FEM) to study SMA behaviors at macro level. However, the effects of micro scale on the global behavior of smart materials have not been considered yet. Therefore, this project will contribute to a better and deeper understanding of micro scale effects on SMAs within isogeometric analysis (IGA) framework. Firstly, simulating and analyzing SMA composites using IGA will be developed. Next, a multiscale IGA framework will be proposed to simulate and investigate the effect of micro void on SMAs structures. Computational homogenization (CH), which is a particular multiscale technique, will be developed to predict the mechanical behaviors of the complex microstructures of SMAs. Finally, multiscale IGA for phase and fracture fields of SMAs will be developed. The characterization and nanofabrication of SMA structures will be examined. Effects of the phase transformations and thermo-electro-mechanical systems on crack propagation will also be studied.