2015-05-042015-05-042009-03-24Kloucek, Petr and Reynolds, Daniel R., "Vibration damping and heat transfer using material phase changes." Patent US7506735B2. issued 2009-03-24. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1911/79985.https://hdl.handle.net/1911/79985A method and apparatus wherein phase changes in a material can dampen vibrational energy, dampen noise and facilitate heat transfer. One embodiment includes a method for damping vibrational energy in a body. The method comprises attaching a material to the body, wherein the material comprises a substrate, a shape memory alloy layer, and a plurality of temperature change elements. The method further comprises sensing vibrations in the body. In addition, the method comprises indicating to at least a portion of the temperature change elements to provide a temperature change in the shape memory alloy layer, wherein the temperature change is sufficient to provide a phase change in at least a portion of the shape memory alloy layer, and further wherein the phase change consumes a sufficient amount of kinetic energy to dampen at least a portion of the vibrational energy in the body. In other embodiments, the shape memory alloy layer is a thin film. Additional embodiments include a sensor connected to the material.11 ppengUtility patentUS7506735B2