LOW-VELOCITY IMPACT CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPOSITE PLATES WITH SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY WIRES

To investigate impact characteristics of shape memory alloy hybrid composites (SMAHC), several experiments were performed. Tensile tests of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires were carried out to investigate thermomechanical properties, and low-velocity impact tests of SMAHC plates and conventional composite plates without SMAs at the critical energy level, low-velocity impact tests of several types of composite plates, including composite plates with embedded SMAs/Fe/Al wires and conventional composite plates, were also done. Results of these experiments show that embedding SMAs in a composite plate can improve the impact resistance. Lastly, low-velocity impact tests of SMAHC plates with SMA wires embedded at different positions through the thickness were performed in an effort to improve the impact resistance. Embedding SMA wires at a lower position in the composite plates was the most effective for improving the impact resistance.