Shape memory alloys: material modeling and device finite element simulations

The use of shape memory alloys (SMA) in an increasing number of applications in many fields of engineering, and in particular in biomedical engineering, is leading to a growing interest toward an exhaustive modeling of their macroscopic behavior in order to construct reliable simulation tools for SMA devices. In this paper we review the properties of a robust three-dimensional model able to reproduce both pseudo-elastic and shape-memory effect; we then employ such as a model to perform the Finite Element Analysis of SMA-based devices such as self-expanding stents and spring actuators.