Iron-Based Shape Memory Alloys in Civil Engineering Applications
Summary
Iron-based shape memory alloys (Fe-SMAs) are emerging as multifunctional materials for the repair, strengthening and life-extension of civil infrastructure. Exploiting the shape memory effect and associated recovery stresses, Fe-SMAs can be thermally activated to introduce prestressing forces in concrete and steel members without the need for hydraulic jacks or external anchors. Their corrosion resistance, fatigue endurance and compatibility with conventional construction materials have enabled applications ranging from shear reinforcement of reinforced concrete beams and prestressed shotcrete layers to fatigue-crack arrest in metallic plates. At the material level, Fe-SMAs exhibit a stress-induced martensitic transformation that can be harnessed to generate substantial recovery stresses (up to 400 MPa) when constrained, while at the structural level they offer solutions for seismic devices, bridge girder strengthening and bonded repairs of ageing steel components. Continued advances in alloy design, activation techniques and bond-behaviour modelling are driving the practical uptake of Fe-SMAs in global civil engineering projects.
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Iron-Based Shape Memory Alloys in Civil Engineering Applications publication trend
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Technical terms
Shape memory effect: reversible transformation allowing a deformed alloy to recover its original shape upon heating.
Recovery stress: stress generated in a constrained SMA during the shape memory effect.
Prestressing: introduction of tensile stress into an SMA element before its use to apply compressive forces in structural members.
Debonding: separation of an adhesive joint under load, indicating interfacial failure.
Bond–slip behaviour: relationship between interfacial shear stress and relative displacement in a bonded SMA-substrate joint.
References
- Shear capacity investigation of RC concrete beams using self-prestressing Fe-based shape memory alloys strips. Results in Engineering (2023).
- Experimental investigation on debonding behavior of Fe-SMA-to-steel joints. Construction and Building Materials (2023).
- Complete fatigue crack arrest in metallic structures using bonded prestressed iron-based shape memory alloy repairs. International Journal of Fatigue (2024).
- Iron-Based Shape Memory Alloys in Construction: Research, Applications and Opportunities. Materials (2022).
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