Advances in additive manufacturing allow the incorporation of smart materials, such as shape memory alloys (SMAs), in printing objects with the ability to autonomously reassemble into different shapes under the influence of stimuli such as temperature or magnetism. The term “4D printing” was coined to designate manufacturing of such objects, which may enable innovative applications such as deployable aerospace structures, self-assembling robots, and patient-specific self-deploying medical implants, etc. The feasibility of printed SMAs was demonstrated, in particular, for nitinol, but limited data is available regarding the performance and reliability of the obtained material. The goal of this project is to develop and validate thermomechanical models and failure criteria for printed nitinol. The development of such models is critical for facilitating computer-aided design, optimization, and virtual prototyping of printed nitinol samples prior to fabrication, thereby reducing production cost and time to market.
