Livne, EliPachikara, Michele2014-02-242014-02-242014-02-242013Pachikara_washington_0250O_12354.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/1773/25095Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2013A capability was developed to build a perform mass-minimization of a truss with SMA actuation to determine optimal element diameters and actuator applied temperature changes. The Nonlinear Programming/Approximation Concepts (NLP/AC) approach was used. This method is based on using a sequence of approximate optimization problems rather than optimizing with the full nonlinear analyses. Some special approximations based on new intermediate variables were used. Results are presented and analyzed.application/pdfen-USCopyright is held by the individual authors.optimization; shape memory alloy; structuresAerospace engineeringaeronautics and astronauticsThesis