Aerospace engineering doctoral student wins best paper award at AIAA conference

Lei Xu, a doctoral student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, won the Lockheed Martin Best Student Paper Competition Award at the 2019 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Science and Technology Forum and Exposition (AIAA SciTech) held Jan. 7-11 in San Diego, California.

Xu’s technical paper is titled “A Three-Dimensional Constitutive Model for Shape Memory Alloys Considering Two-Way Shape Memory Effect and Transformation-Induced Plasticity.” He is working with aerospace professor Dr. Dimitris Lagoudas, and the Shape Memory Alloy Research Team and Center for Intelligent Materials and Structures. Xu’s doctoral study is focused mainly on proposing new computational models with the capability to predict the cyclic response of shape memory alloy (SMA)-based actuators. The proposed computational model in his technical paper will be ultimately utilized as an efficient tool for the design and analysis of SMA-based actuators, such as SMA beams and torque tubes, which are intended for the realization of the future commercial supersonic transport aircraft with morphing capabilities to reduce the sonic boom noise. This work is funded by NASA under the University Initiative Leadership program.

From its creation in 1963, the AIAA SciTech Forum has served the aerospace profession as part of its core mission. Spanning over 70 technical discipline areas, the conference provides scientists, engineers and technologists the opportunity to present and disseminate their work in structured technical paper and poster sessions, learn about new technologies and advances from other presenters, further their professional development and expand their professional networks.