Development Of An Interactive Shape Memory Alloy Demonstration For Smart Materials Curricula

This paper presents the development, operation, and evaluation of an interactive Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) demonstration. The hands-on device was developed to introduce Shape Memory Alloys to anyone but especially to students in middle school and above. The device is designed to demonstrate the basic operations of an SMA and its common applications. The device features two independent processes with their own associated control buttons and dials, housed in a clear acrylic display case for easy visualization. The display features 1) an SMA wire weight-lifter to demonstrate the magnitude of the force exerted by the SMA wire and 2) an SMA wire actuated flexible-limb. The device is fully autonomous and has been used at the University of Houston as a teaching tool and as an outreach demonstration. Through student evaluations, the demonstration has been shown to be an effective tool in assisting students to learn about SMA.