Demo
    A materials testing laboratory with a large mechanical tensile testing machine and a video camera set up to record the experiment.
    A test rig at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio twists a nickel-titanium-hafnium shape memory alloy tube, painted white and wrapped in a copper heating coils. The metallic cylindrical grips above and below the tube hold it in place, while the bottom grip twists with 1,360 Newton-meters of torque, or more than twice the torque produced by a 2017 Ford F-150 pickup truck. The heating coil warms the tube, and the shape memory alloy responds by twisting and moving against the torque of the test rig. A digital camera records the movement as tracked through tiny black dots painted on the tube. Air blown through yellow sponge material cools the tube and it returns to its original position.
    Two metal shafts with gear teeth at one end, placed parallel on a blue surface.
    By heating and cooling a mix of nickel, titanium and hafnium, NASA engineers can train tubes to bend when heated to a specific temperature and return to their original shapes when cooled.
    Engineer examining aerospace equipment in a laboratory setting.
    NASA plans to ground-test the ability of a shape-memory-alloy to fold the wingtip of an F-18. Here, a 3-D mockup of the actuator rests on top of the wingtip, shown with Othmane Benafan, co-principal investigator for the Spanwise Adaptive Wing project.