Articulated shield for a vehicle friction brake

A vehicle comprising:

• a vehicle body including a first vehicle body end configured to face an incident ambient airflow, a second vehicle body end opposite of the first vehicle body end, and a vehicle underbody section configured to span a distance between the first and second vehicle body ends;
• a road wheel operatively connected to the vehicle body;
• a friction brake configured to retard rotation of the road wheel and thereby decelerate the vehicle;
• and
• an articulated shield assembly comprising:
• a first shield component arranged proximate the friction brake and rotationally fixed relative to the vehicle body;
• a second shield component operatively connected to the first shield component and configured to shift relative to the first shield component;
• and
• an actuator employing a shape memory alloy (SMA) element to shift the second shield component relative to the first shield component in response to a temperature of the friction brake to thereby direct at least a portion of the incident ambient airflow to the friction brake and control temperature thereof;
• wherein:
• the first shield component defines a first opening for the at least a portion of the incident ambient airflow;
• and
• the second shield component is configured to rotate relative to the first shield component to thereby selectively block and unblock the first opening.