Shape-memory alloys: effective 3D modelling, computational aspects and design of devices

The employment of shape-memory alloys (SMA) in a large number of applications in many fields of engineering, among which biomedical engineering, has been the motivation for an increasing interest in the direction of a correct and exhaustive modelling of their macroscopic behaviour in order to construct reliable simulation tools, which can be successfully used in the design procedures of SMA devices. In this paper, we review a robust three-dimensional model giving a good description of pseudo-elastic and shape-memory behaviours and we use it for the development of a new design procedure of SMA micro-actuators. Starting from a SMA micro-device proposed in the literature, we then adopt such a procedure to design a new effective variant of micro-gripper.