Shape Memory Alloys Actuators

Dear Colleagues,

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) is an emerging technology, which is increasingly being applied in different fields, from the aerospace sector to the automotive industry, and from the biomedical field to the civil engineering. SMAs’ specific features make them suitable for actuation purposes. Their compactness and large energy and force density suit applications characterised by narrow available room that require actuation architectures that are as simple as possible, to minimise any transmission losses. Another of their important features is represented by their load bearing capability, that is to say, their capacity to cooperate with the surrounding structure in absorbing external loads; in this sense, SMAs may literally replace parts of the structure, plying the double role of active and structural elements. All these aspects, jointly with the generally high compatibility of these alloys in the context of medical tightening requirements, contribute to the high integrability performance of SMAs.
The present Special Issue aims to offer readers some of the current SMA applications in the actuation field, within the above-mentioned variegated application scenario. Attention is paid to the development path, that is to say, the complex and often multidisciplinary process that starts from the requirements issued by the specific problem (aerospace, biomedical, automotive, and civil engineering); continues with the generation of the specifications for SMA actuation systems; arrives at the preliminary and advanced design of the concepts; and, finally, comes to the demonstration and validation of them, with a clear contextualisation of the achieved maturation level.

Dr. Salvatore Ameduri
Dr. Antonio Concilio
Guest Editors

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• Shape memory alloys
• Adaptive structure
• Load bearing actuation
• Morphing
• Large density energy
• High integrability-compatibility level