SME JOINTS AND COUPLING FOR ADVANCED COMPOSITE MATERIALS

ADVANCED MATERAILS, SUCH AS GRAPHITE/EPOXY AND METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES, EXHIBIT REMARKABLE MODULUS TO WEIGH PERFORMANCE.THESE MATERIALS ARE CURRENTLY BEING USED IN COMMERCIAL AND MILITARY APPLICATIONS AND ARE EXCELLENT FOR FUTURE USE AS STRUCTURAL MEMBERS FOR SPACE STATIONS. AS WITH MANY ADVANCED MATERIALS, THEIR EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE USE IS LIMITED BY FABRICATION TECHNIQUES. CURRENT METHODS OF JOINING THESE MATERIALS PROVIDED THE LARGEST CONSTRAINT TO USE AND CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY TO DEGREDATION IN THE JOINED REGION. THIS PROPOSAL WILL ADDRESS THE FEASIBILITY OF USING SHAPE MEMORY EFFECT MATERIALS FOR JOINTS AND COUPLINGS. THE STUDY WILL ADDRESS MATERIALS AND DESIGN ISSUES CULMINATING IN PROTOTYPE DESIGNS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT IN PHASE II.