Behavior of concrete beam with embedded shape memory alloy wires

This paper deals with the behavior of concrete beams actuated by embedded shape memory alloy (SMA for short) wires through an extensive experimental program. Ti-50wt.% NiTi SMA wires were used. Electrical power was used to heat the SMA wires. Some of the factors affecting the deflection of the beam were examined experimentally. These factors include the cross-sectional areas of the beam and the number of SMA wires, the pre-strain of the SMA wire, the curing condition (in a water tank or in a standard fog-curing box), the curing time of the specimen, the actuation mode for the SMA wire, the volume fraction of the embedded SMA wires, and the diameter of the SMA wire, etc. The experimental results indicate that a large recovery force in the concrete beam could be obtained when the SMA wires were heated and, accordingly, the SMA wires could be used as actuators to change the deflection of a concrete beam.