Co-rotational thermo-mechanically coupled multi-field framework and finite element for the large displacement analysis of multi-layered shape memory alloy beam-like structures

A thermo-mechanically coupled finite element (FE) for the simulation of multi-layered shape memory alloy (SMA) beams admitting large displacements and rotations (LDRs) is developed to capture the geometrically nonlinear effects which are present in many SMA applications. A generalized multi-field beam theory implementing a SMA constitutive model based on small strain theory, thermo-mechanically coupled governing equations and multi-field kinematic hypotheses combining first order shear deformation assumptions with a sixth order polynomial temperature field through the thickness of the beam section are extended to admit LDRs. The corotational formulation is adopted, where the motion of the beam is decomposed to rigid body motion and relative small deformation in the local frame. A new generalized multi-layered SMA FE is formulated. The nonlinear transient spatial discretized equations of motion of the SMA structure are synthesized and solved using the Newton-Raphson method combined with an implicit time integration scheme. Correlations of models incorporating the present beam FE with respective results of models incorporating plane stress SMA FEs, demonstrate excellent agreement of the predicted LDRs response, temperature and phase transformation fields, as well as, significant gains in computational time.