SMA technology refers to materials possessing exceptional properties such as their remarkable shape memory capability, which allows them to shorten when activated by heating, along with their very high strength. Because their main component is steel, they are available at affordable costs, unlike similar nickel and titanium-based materials. Although SMA technology has been known since the 1980s, its first real application on a bridge structure only took place in 2019 during the demolition of a more than 100-year-old steel bridge in Petrov nad Desnou. The second time it was used was in 2021 during the repair of the bridge in Karlovy Vary. The team of Prof. Pavel Ryjáček from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University, Department of Steel and Timber Structures, is responsible for both projects. With him and his PhD student Ing. Jakub Vůjtěch, who is working on this topic in his dissertation, we will discuss what makes this technology unique, what are its advantages and what potential it has in practice in the future.
SMA technology and its first real application on a bridge structure in the world
