Modeling and nonlinear vibration analysis of composite laminated shell with embedded shape memory alloy wires

The modeling approach and the nonlinear vibration behavior analysis of composite laminated shell with embedded shape memory alloy wires under thermal activation are investigated in this paper. The shape memory alloy material behavior is programmed in the form of an ABAQUS user subroutine code (UMAT) by using the Liang-Rogers constitutive model, and this program is verified by the response of pseudoelasticity and shape memory effect (SME) at various temperatures and stress levels. Based on the ABAQUS UMAT code, the first natural frequency of the composite shell with embedded SMA wires subject to thermal load and mechanical load is calculated. The effect of the SMA wires activation temperature, wires number and stacking sequence (unidirectional type and cross type) on vibration characteristics of the structure are discussed. The simulation results show that heating SMA wires and increasing the number of the SMA wires may increase the frequency and buckling critical load of the structures generally; the natural frequency of the cross type is lower than the unidirectional one. However, with the number of the SMA wires increasing, the gap between these two types becomes smaller. And also the support capacity of the cross type structure is slightly weaker than the unidirectional one in present work. These conclusions can provide some advice to structure design and heat-resistant design for smart composite structures.