Durability Assessment of Fabric-Reinforced Shape-Memory Polymer Composites

Abstract

The present study is a baseline assessment of the environmental durability of current state-of-the-art, fabric-reinforced shape memory materials being considered for morphing applications. Tensile dog-bone-shaped specimens are cut along three different directions, namely, along 0°, perpendicular (90°), and at 45° to the orientation of the fabric. The shape memory properties and elastomeric response before and after relevant environmental exposure to water at 49°C for 4 days, in lube oil at room temperature and at 49°C for 24 hours, and after exposure to Xenon Arc (63°C, 18 minutes water and light/102 minutes light only) and spectral intensity of 0.3 to 0.4 watts/m2 for 125 cycles (250 hours exposure time) are measured. Weight loss of the as-received and conditioned specimens is monitored while the dog-bone-shaped specimens are subjected to recovery following fixation. Parameters being investigated include stored strain, recovery stress, shape fixity, shape recovery, and modulus in the glassy and rubbery state.

Prediction of The Mechanical Behavior of Polylactic Acid Parts with Shape Memory Effect Fabricated by FDM

“…After heating, the recovery ratio could be calculated from the recovered shape of the samples. Tandon et al proposed the following definition of the shape memory ratios [24]:…”

“…The mechanical characteristics of the SMPs change with temperature, particularly around their glass transition temperatures. The glass transition temperature is the temperature at which the polymer chains become more mobile and there is a transition from a glassy rigid state to a rubbery deformable state [24]. The glass transition temperature is an essential result of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) as well as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermomechanical analysis (TMA).…”