Shape memory polymers (SMPs) can have a large frozen strain but with a very small recovery stiffness in comparison with shape memory metals or ceramics. To provide more deployable stresses for the application of actuators, sandwich beams consisting of a SMP core and two thin metallic skins were considered. The packaging behaviors of two types of SMP sandwich beams, aluminum/SMP/aluminum and steel/SMP/steel, were discussed. Due to the high compliance of SMP core on packaging condition that the testing temperature is above the activation temperature of the material, buckling and post-buckling are the essential deformation mechanisms of SMP sandwich beams under bending. Theoretical solutions were derived in studying such non-linear behaviors, including the initiation of critical buckling, post-buckling response, and final failure modes. Systematic parameter's analyses, e.g., buckling half-wavelength, amplitude, location of the neutral-strain surface in different packaging curvatures, were also presented.Keywords Shape memory polymer · Sandwich structure · Shape recovery · Buckling · List of symbols z m thickness of metallic skin z e thickness of SMP epoxy core z t thickness of tensioned SMP core z c thickness of compressed SMP core z t thickness of tensioned metallic skin z c thickness of compressed metallic skin ε eff effective strain E eff effective modulus of buckled skin ε z strain of SMP core γ xoz shear strain of SMP core w buckling displacement of metallic skin w e displacement of SMP core E m Young's modulus of metallic skin E e Young's modulus of SMP epoxy core G m shear modulus of metallic skin G e shear modulus of SMP epoxy core l length of SMP sandwich beam b width of SMP sandwich beam a buckling magnitude of metallic skin λ buckling wavelength of metallic skin m buckling mode number of metallic skin EI flexural stiffness of metallic skin ρ curvature radius M applied bending moment z ns distance from geometric midplane to neutral-strain surface T virtual work applied on the compressed region U m c compressed strain energy in unbuckled metallic skin U m b strain energy in buckled metallic skin U e strain energy in SMP epoxy core U S xoz shear strain energy of SMP core in the x − z plane U T z tensioned/compressed strain energy of SMP core along length direction
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