POLYMER COMPOSITE STRUCTURE REINFORCED WITH SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME

摘要

A prepreg material infused with a bulk resin, where the bulk resin has shape memory alloy (SMA) particles intermixed in the resin to toughen the material when the material is used in an application and is cured. The SMA particles may be of various shapes and sizes. The material may form a prepreg fabric having interwoven fibers or a prepreg unidirectional tape having fibers oriented unidirectionally. Opposing surfaces of the material may be infused with quantities of bulk resin having different concentrations of SMA particles. The SMA particles may be mixed in the bulk resin while in their austenitic or martensitic states to suit the needs of specific applications.