TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT THERMOELASTIC PROPERTIES FOR MACRO FIBER COMPOSITE ACTUATORS

This research effort models the thermoelastic properties of the macro fiber composite actuator as a function of temperature. The required temperature-dependent properties of each constituent material are obtained, and the orthotropic layer properties are calculated using a variety of micromechanics models, with the most accurate being selected based on a comparison with ANSYS finite element models. Equations for the four independent stiffness parameters and two coefficients of thermal expansion of the entire actuator are derived using a classical lamination approach. These results agree closely with an ANSYS finite element model of the unit cell of the macro fiber composite actuator.