Numerical Study on the Progressive Damage Behavior of the Interfacial Debonding between Shape Memory Alloy and Polymer Matrix

The shape memory alloy reinforced composites have promising application potential for aerospace, automotive and biomedical engineering, while the interfacial bonding performance between shape memory alloy and polymer matrix is crucial to the improvement on the mechanical properties. The interfacial bonding mechanical properties are not uniform on the interface between shape memory alloy and the polymer matrix due to the existence of internal defects. Based on the cohesive zone model, an innovative finite element model is proposed to simulate the progressive damage behavior of the interfacial debonding between shape memory alloy and polymer matrix. The good agreement between the numerical results and the available experimental results indicates the validation of the proposed model. The progressive damage and connection of different positions of the interface between shape memory alloy and polymer matrix result in the final interfacial debonding behavior. Further, the effects of the shape memory alloy length-diameter ratio and embedded depth on the interface performance between shape memory alloy and polymer matrix are investigated.