Manufacturing of Shape Memory Alloy Pipe Coupler: Modeling and Application

Shape memory alloy (SMA) pipe couplers offer a promising way to improve the reliability of pipe joints in various industrial applications. However, the deformation behavior of SMA during multistage joining processes, such as radial expansion at cryogenic temperature, is complex. Here, the experiments are conducted for Ni47Ti50Fe3 under different thermal-mechanical loading conditions to reveal the deformation mechanism of SMA during the tube joining process. Then, the constitutive model of SMA is numerically implemented into the finite element simulation (FE) to represent the whole joining process, so that the structure of the coupling can be optimized and subsequently fabricated. The connection patterns of the SMA pipe couplings are fabricated. By comparing the deformation of the pipe in the simulation and the test results, the simulation results are verified.