Shape Memory Materials Database - A Selection Tool For The Benefit of All

Shape memory materials (SMM) have existed for many decades and have found uses in many applications. Shape memory alloys, polymers, ceramics and even hybrids in some cases offer unique advantages where conventional materials are lacking or not optimal for use. However, the widespread use of these materials and firm acceptability among designers and engineers is still hindered due to the lack of a centralized, consolidated database of experimental data. Small subsets of data can be found in vendor sheets, books or scattered among journal articles, which makes it very difficult for SMM users (particularly beginners) to examine, compare, and display numerous resources in one place. Due to this apparent data shortage, a SMM selection database was developed by the NASA Glenn Research Center. This web-based tool is a searchable database designed to provide a repository of SMM data and metadata where compositional, processing and property data can be accessible in one place. A graphical user interface provides instant displays of 1000’s of data points to help establish visual trends, effects and a quick down-select. The database currently contains a collection of >500,000 data points of shape memory alloys, superelastic alloys, magnetic alloys, polymers and ceramics. The database schema is sufficiently general to accommodate frequently used SMM properties and data for most material types with the flexibility to add new attributes. The building blocks of the database and methods used to construct each element are discussed.