Shape memory polymer composites with woven fabric reinforcement for self-deployable booms

Abstract

To characterize the nonlinear relationship between load and displacement and its dependency on temperature and time variations, the rate form of thermomechanical constitutive equations for shape memory polymers is newly derived. Experimental tests of the shape memory polymers are analyzed to acquire the parameters needed for the model. In order to generate a fast recovery rate and a higher recovery ratio, an asymmetric shape memory polymer composite reinforced with woven fabrics is developed and fabricated. Moreover, the efficiency of the asymmetric shape memory polymer composite is evaluated through shape recovery tests after bending. A numerical model of the shape memory polymer composite is newly established. In addition, the structural nonlinear behavior of the asymmetric shape memory polymer composite is analyzed with time and temperature dependence. A “[Formula: see text]”-shaped cross-sectional shape memory polymer composite boom is fabricated, and its deployment procedures are demonstrated for the application of self-deployable booms in gossamer space structures.