Finite Element Studies of Triple Actuation of Shape Memory Alloy Wires for Surgical Tools

Since the early discovery in 1951 [1], shape memory alloys (SMAs) have been used in design and development of several innovative engineering systems. SMAs’ unique characteristics have introduced unconventional alternatives in design and development of advanced devices. SMA’s field of applications has covered many areas from aerospace to auto industries, and medical devices [2]. During the past couple of decades, scientists have suggested material models to predict the SMA’s shape memory effect (SME) and its superelastic behavior. The superelastic characteristic of SMAs (its capability to exhibit a large recoverable strain) has been widely used to develop innovative products including biomedical implants such as stents, artificial heart valves, orthodontic wires, frames of indestructible spectacles, etc. However, its actuation capabilities, known as SME, hasn’t been thoroughly expanded. The number of products privileging from SMA’s SME behavior has been very limited. The reason relies on the SMA’s complex material properties that depend on the stress, strain and temperature at every stage of actuation as well as the material’s processing and the thermomechanical loading history.