Trevor Grim Schreyer Thesis

Author:

Grim, Trevor

Area of Honors:

Engineering Science

Degree:

Bachelor of Science

Document Type:

Thesis

Thesis Supervisors:

Andrea P. Arguelles, Thesis Supervisor
Joseph Paul Cusumano, Thesis Honors Advisor

Keywords:

Ultrasound
Shape Memory Alloys
SMA
NiTi
Microstructure Characterization

Abstract:

When most people think of ultrasound, they picture a mother receiving one during pregnancy. However, ultrasound is a beneficial tool in better understanding various materials and their microstructures. Using the same technology as medical ultrasound, researchers can map materials at the micron level without having to break them open. One material group that has yet to be fully explored is shape memory alloys. Shape memory alloys are materials that can be deformed at one temperature and returned to their initial shape after heating. While this sounds surprising at first, shape memory alloys are not all that uncommon, appearing in airplanes, orthodontic braces, and many other areas. A large, broad study of shape memory alloys must be completed in order to fully understand their microstructures. This includes studying alloys of similar compositions manufactured different ways and at several points throughout deformation. Before doing such a study, however, a set procedure must be created with sample experiments laying out benchmarks of how to identify microstructural changes within an ultrasonic map. By improving our understanding of their microstructures with ultrasound, shape memory alloys can be made safer, cheaper and better for applications ranging from eye glasses to space ships.