The recovery properties under load of a shape memory polymer composite material

In many applications, shape memory alloys are being replaced by shape memory polymers as they have some better properties than shape memory alloys. Nevertheless, shape memory alloys can recover under load which shape memory polymers cannot. Shape memory polymers are not capable of giving full recovery even lifting a tiny load. The melting temperature or the glass transition temperature is the transition temperatures to which shape memory polymers are closely heated. Then a deforming force up to a certain position is applied to the heated shape memory polymers. After that shape memory polymer is permitted to cool while keeping it deformed. After the cooling, shape memory polymer obtains the temporary shape which can be recovered by reheating it at the similar transition temperature (glass transition or melting). Consequently, it recovers at its initial state. Shape memory polymer can achieve constrained recovery and unconstrained recovery, nonetheless; under stress, it is partly recovered. In current work, recovery under load has been investigated of an asymmetrical shape memory composite. It is established that it is capable to recover under various loads. Under various loads, it shows full recovery in reference to initial state. The ability to recover under load can be potentially used in diverse applications.     

A thermodynamic framework for the modeling of crystallizable shape memory polymers

Shape memory polymers are a relatively new class of materials that have the ability to retain a temporary shape, which can be reset to the original shape with the use of a suitable trigger, typically an increase in temperature. The temporary shapes can be very complex and the deformations involved large. These materials are finding use in a large variety of important applications; hence the need to model their behavior. In this paper, we develop constitutive equations to model the thermo-mechanical behavior of crystallizable shape memory polymers. Crystallizable shape memory polymers are called crystallizable because the temporary shape is fixed by a crystalline phase, while return to the original shape is due to the transition of this crystalline phase. The modeling is carried out using a framework that was developed recently for studying crystallization in polymers and is based on the theory of multiple natural configurations. In this paper we formulate constitutive equations for the original amorphous phase and the semi-crystalline phase that is formed after the onset of crystallization. In addition we model the transition of the crystalline phase to capture the return of the polymer to its original shape. These models for shape memory effects in polymers have been developed within a full thermodynamic framework, extending our previous work in which the models were developed within a mechanical setting [G. Barot, I.J. Rao, Constitutive modeling of the mechanics associated with crystallizable shape memory polymers, ZAMP 57 (4) (2006) 652-681]. The model is applied to the problem of inflation and extension of a hollow cylinder. The results are consistent with what has been observed in experiments.     

Polymers Move in Response to Light

Significant advances have recently been made in the development of functional polymers that are able to undergo light‐induced shape changes. The main challenge in the development of such polymer systems is the conversion of photoinduced effects at the molecular level to macroscopic movement of working pieces. This article highlights some selected polymer architectures and their tailored functionalization processes. Examples include the contraction and bending of azobenzene‐containing liquid‐crystal elastomers and volume changes in gels. We focus especially on light‐induced shape‐memory polymers. These materials can be deformed and temporarily fixed in a new shape. They only recover their original, permanent shape when irradiated with light of appropriate wavelengths. Using light as a trigger for the shape‐memory effect will extend the applications of shape‐memory polymers, especially in the field of medical devices where triggers other than heat are highly desirable.     

纤维增强形状记忆聚合物复合材料及其航天应用

形状记忆聚合物(SMP)是一种能够保持临时形状,并在外界刺激下自发回复到其初始形状的智能材料,具有高形状固定率、高形状回复率、转变温度可调、变形能力强、质量轻等优点,但其应用受到响应方式单一和承载能力差的限制,通过向聚合物中添加功能颗粒或增强纤维制成形状记忆聚合物复合材料(SMPC),可有效解决这一问题。首先介绍了SMP形状记忆效应的原理,然后阐述了纤维增强型SMPC有限变形过程中纤维的微屈曲行为。最后对可变形结构在航天领域的应用进行了论述。      

Modeling the mechanics of light activated shape memory polymers

Shape memory polymers (SMP’s) are a relatively new kind of smart materials and have significant technological applications ranging from biomedical devices to aerospace technology. First generation SMP’s relied on changes in temperature to fix the temporary shape and have been studied quite extensively in the past. In the last few years a new generation of SMP’s have been synthesized in which the temporary shape is fixed by exposure to light at specific wavelengths (typically in the Ultraviolet, UV, range). Exposure to light at certain wavelengths causes photosensitive molecules, which are grafted on the polymer chains comprising the material, to form covalent bonds. These bonds act as crosslinks and are responsible for the temporary shape. On exposure to light at a different wavelength these bonds cleave and the material returns to its original shape. Our research focuses on modeling the mechanics associated with such light activated shape memory polymers (LASMP’s) undergoing complex deformations. The modeling is done using a framework based on the theory of multiple natural configurations taking into consideration the different aspects of modeling this material, which include developing a model for the original virgin network and for the other networks with different stress-free states, formed due to exposure to light. In addition to this, we also model the initiation and the formation of the light activated networks and the reverse transition resulting in the dissolution of these networks. Anisotropy in the mechanical response is also incorporated into the model. The model is then used to simulate results for specific boundary value problems, such as uni-axial extension and inflation of a cylinder.     

‘Two way’ shape memory composites based on electroactive polymer and thermoplastic membrane

A practical and facile strategy was proposed to fabricate composites that not only use the properties of individual components (commercial electroactive polymer and thermoplastic resin) to their advantage, but also produce synergy effect of ‘two way’ shape memory properties. In this design, electroactive polymer is treated as soft segment which provides actuation force via converting electrical energy to dynamic energy. Thermoplastic material serves as ‘hard segment’ to help with fixation of temporary shape thanks to its re-structuring and stiffness/modulus changing abilities through the reversible transitional temperature. Compared with traditional one way and two way shape memory materials, this composite material has the capability of changing shape without pre-programming. High shape recover property (99 ± 0.3%.) has been obtained due to the rubber elasticity of electroactive polymer matrix. Many features could be brought up based on this design, such as accurate control over deformation by changing strength of applied electric field as well as tailorable stimulus temperature and mechanical properties.     

Highly Stretchable,Shape Memory Organohydrogels Using Phase‐Transition Microinclusions

Shape memory effect in polymer materials has attracted considerable attention due to its promising applications in a variety of fields. However, shape memory polymers prepared by conventional strategy suffer from a common problem, in which high strain capacity and excellent shape memory behavior cannot be simultaneously achieved. This study reports a general and synergistic strategy to fabricate high‐strain and tough shape memory organohydrogels that feature binary cooperative phase. The phase‐ transition micro‐organogels and elastic hydrogel framework act synergistically to provide excellent thermomechanical performance and shape memory effect. During shape memory process, the organohydrogels exhibit high strain capacity, featuring fully recoverable stretching deformation by up to 2600% and compression by up to 85% beneath a load ≈20 times the organohydrogel's weight. Furthermore, owing to the micro‐organogel and hydrogel heterostructures, the interfacial tension derived from heterophases dominates the shape recovery of the organohydrogel material. Simple processing and smart surface patterning of the shape memory behavior and multiple shape memory effects can also be realized. Meanwhile, these organohydrogels are also nonswellable in water and oil, which is important for multimedia applications.     

3D Printed Photoresponsive Devices Based on Shape Memory Composites

Compared with traditional stimuli‐responsive devices with simple planar or tubular geometries, 3D printed stimuli‐responsive devices not only intimately meet the requirement of complicated shapes at macrolevel but also satisfy various conformation changes triggered by external stimuli at the microscopic scale. However, their development is limited by the lack of 3D printing functional materials. This paper demonstrates the 3D printing of photoresponsive shape memory devices through combining fused deposition modeling printing technology and photoresponsive shape memory composites based on shape memory polymers and carbon black with high photothermal conversion efficiency. External illumination triggers the shape recovery of 3D printed devices from the temporary shape to the original shape. The effect of materials thickness and light density on the shape memory behavior of 3D printed devices is quantified and calculated. Remarkably, sunlight also triggers the shape memory behavior of these 3D printed devices. This facile printing strategy would provide tremendous opportunities for the design and fabrication of biomimetic smart devices and soft robotics.     

Dynamic instability response of smart composite material

Laminated composite is common to replace traditional metals in today's industries due to its high specific strength. Shape memory alloy has been used to improve structural behaviours such as buckling, vibration and fatigue through its well‐ known property of shape memory effect. This ability of shape memory alloy to improve the parametric instability behaviour of laminated composite plate has not been studied in the past and as such, this study is conducted. Here, shape memory alloy wires are embedded within the outer layers of the laminated composite plates. The Mathieu‐Hill equation for the parametric instability of the shape memory alloy composite plate has been developed using finite element method based on the first order shear deformation theory. The formulation is validated and parametric studies have been conducted to investigate the effect of shape memory alloy on the dynamic instability behaviour of the composite that corresponds to factors such as static load factor, thickness of the plate and boundary conditions. The study shows that shape memory alloy improves significantly the dynamic instability behaviour of the laminated composite plate by shifting the instability chart to the right. The effect of shape memory alloy can increase the frequency centre of the instability chart by more than 100 %.     

A simple model for geo‐materials involving shear‐induced anisotropic degradation

Abstract

When geo‐materials, such as soil, gravelly soil and soft rocks, are loaded by shear stress, they frequently exhibit volumetric deformation, either dilation or compression, that cannot be modeled by conventional elasticity of isotropic material. This study aims, using as few parameters as possible, to develop a material model designed to simulate the main deformation of geo‐materials. A constitutive model based on the concept of shear‐induced anisotropic degradation is proposed. The proposed constitutive model is characterized by the following features: (1) significant shear‐induced volumetric deformation prior to failure, (2) modulus stiffening under hydrostatic loading and degradation under shearing; (3) stress‐induced anisotropy; and (4) being versatile in representing many geo‐materials and their behaviors under various stress paths.

In the proposed model, the deformational moduli, E, G, and G ^', vary according to stress state. The stiffening and degradation of these moduli render the deformational behavior of geo‐materials. The proposed model needs only six material parameters, all of which possess physical meaning and can be easily obtained. Finally, the versatility of the proposed model is demonstrated by simulating various geo‐materials such as sandstone, gravelly soil and shale loaded under different stress paths.     

磁性形状记忆合金研究进展

磁性形状记忆合金是上世纪90年代开始出现的一类新型金属功能材料。这类合金兼具热弹性马氏体相变和磁性转变,其形状记忆效应可以由磁场控制。此外这类合金还具有磁阻、磁热等丰富的物理效应,因而一直是近期研究热点。首先介绍了磁性形状记忆合金的3个基本特征,即马氏体相变与磁性转变、磁场驱动孪晶再取向和磁场诱发相变。然后分别对Ni基、Co基和Fe基磁性形状记忆合金的研究现状进行了评述。最后展望了磁性形状记忆合金的发展趋势。     

Controlling Malleability of Metamaterials through Programmable Memory

Malleability, the ability to adapt materials to specific shapes, is necessary in applications where a form closure is requested. The material should be easily deformable between desired stable shapes. Such stability can be obtained through bistable elements that act as memory in metamaterials. Herein, a material with memory behavior programmed by the local temperature is presented. The behavior can be switched between a permanent shape change and a complete elastic recovery after removing an applied mechanical load. Additionally, a deformed material can be forced to recover its shape by heating. Through an adaption of the mesostructure and the used polymers, the characteristic behavior (switching time and temperature) can be adjusted. Furthermore, heating can be applied locally that only certain parts are able to change. A unit cell design based on analytical and numerical analyses is demonstrated that considers not only the mesostructure but also the combination of polymeric materials with specific thermoresponsive mechanical behavior. Unit cells and structures of several cells are additively manufactured to validate the programmable behavior. The concept is extended to indirect heating with an alternating magnetic field, using a compound made from a polymeric material and magnetic particles.     

Magnetic Nanoplatelet‐Based Spin Memory Device Operating at Ambient Temperatures

There is an increasing demand for realizing a simple Si based universal memory device working at ambient temperatures. In principle, nonvolatile magnetic memory can operate at low power consumption and high frequencies. However, in order to compete with existing memory technology, size reduction and simplification of the used material systems are essential. In this work, the chiral‐induced spin selectivity effect is used along with 30–50 nm ferromagnetic nanoplatelets in order to realize a simple magnetic memory device. The vertical memory is Si compatible, easy to fabricate, and in principle can be scaled down to a single nanoparticle size. Results show clear dual magnetization behavior with threefold enhancement between the one and zero states. The magnetization of the device is accompanied with large avalanche like noise that is ascribed to the redistribution of current densities due to spin accumulation inducing coupling effects between the different nanoplatelets.     

Magnetic Susceptibility Study of Sub‐Pico‐emu Sample Using a Micromagnetometer: An Investigation through Bistable Spin‐Crossover Materials

A promising and original method to study the spin‐transition in bistable spin‐crossover (SCO) materials using a magnetoresistive multiring sensor and its self‐generated magnetic field is reported. Qualitative and quantitative studies are carried out combining theoretical and experimental approaches. The results show that only a small part of matter dropped on the sensor surface is probed by the device. At a low bias‐current range, the number of detected nanoparticles depends on the amplitude of the current. However, in agreement with the theoretical model, the stray voltage from the particles is proportional to the current squared. By changing both the bias current and the concentration of particle droplet, the thermal hysteresis of an ultrasmall volume, 1 × 10^?4 mm³, of SCO particles is measured. The local probe of the experimental setup allows a highest resolution of 4 × 10^?14 emu to be reached, which is never achieved by experimental methods at room temperature.     

Nonlinear free vibration analysis of shape memory alloy embedded laminated composite shell panel

High specific strength and stiffness are characteristics desired for aircraft and launch vehicle domains to enhance the payload gain and performance. The mechanical properties of the composites can be further tailored by embedding structural components, such as shape memory alloys, into the passive composite structure. The present study is primarily focused on the nonlinear free vibration analysis of spherical and cylindrical composite shell panels embedded with shape memory alloy fibers. The nonlinear finite element governing equations based on the higher-order shear deformation plate theory and principle of virtual work with nonlinear von-Karman strain displacement relations are employed for the analysis. The temperature-dependent material properties of shape memory alloy are considered in the formulation. A nine-noded isoperimetric element is accounted for synthesizing the element for the finite formulation. The Young's modulus and the recovery stress vary with temperature and higher nonlinearity. The incremental method is used to generate the inputs for the temperature-dependent nonlinear properties of materials. The temperature change is divided by many small temperature increments. The temperature-dependent material properties are assumed constant during the small increment. The mechanics of shape memory alloy in substrate are presented and the governing equation of laminated composite with shape memory alloy is obtained and implemented in the MATLAB 7.8 program.     

A finite element method for light activated shape‐memory polymers

Shape‐memory polymers (SMPs) belong to a class of smart materials that have shown promise for a wide range of applications. They are characterized by their ability to maintain a temporary deformed shape and return to an original parent permanent shape. In this paper, we consider the coupled photomechanical behavior of light activated shape‐memory polymers (LASMPs), focusing on the numerical aspects for finite element simulations at the engineering scale. The photomechanical continuum framework is summarized, and some specific constitutive equations for LASMPs are described. Numerical implementation of the multiphysics governing partial differential equations takes the form of a user defined element subroutine within the commercial software package ABAQUS . We verify our two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional finite element procedure for multiple analytically tractable cases. To show the robustness of the numerical implementation, simulations are performed under various geometries and complex photomechanical loading. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic Shape Memory Polymers with Integrated Multifunctional Shape Manipulation

Shape-programmable soft materials that exhibit integrated multifunctional shape manipulations, including reprogrammable, untethered, fast, and reversible shape transformation and locking, are highly desirable for a plethora of applications, including soft robotics, morphing structures, and biomedical devices. Despite recent progress, it remains challenging to achieve multiple shape manipulations in one material system. Here, a novel magnetic shape memory polymer composite is reported to achieve this. The composite consists of two types of magnetic particles in an amorphous shape memory polymer matrix. The matrix softens via magnetic inductive heating of low-coercivity particles, and high-remanence particles with reprogrammable magnetization profiles drive the rapid and reversible shape change under actuation magnetic fields. Once cooled, the actuated shape can be locked. Additionally, varying the particle loadings for heating enables sequential actuation. The integrated multifunctional shape manipulations are further exploited for applications including soft magnetic grippers with large grabbing force, reconfigurable antennas, and sequential logic for computing.     

Material design and shape memory properties of smart composites composed of polymer and ferromagnetic shape memory alloy particles

Ferromagnetic shape memory alloys (FSMAs) such as NiMnGa are expected to be new practical actuator materials with high driving frequency by magnetic field and large strain due to the shape memory effect (SME). However, the brittleness and poor workability of FSMAs, especially at a polycrystalline state, are serious problems and should be improved for a practical use. From this viewpoint a smart composite has been designed by a combination of a polymer matrix and FSMA particles (FSMAP), and a systematic investigation has been done for a NiMnGa-FSMAP/epoxy smart composite. This paper summarizes the design concept and some experimental results of the smart composite. It is pointed out that the single-crystal NiMnGa-FSMAP are easily made by mechanical crush due to the brittleness of FSMAs, and microstructural control is also possible by applying magnetic field during curing. Experimental study revealed that the NiMnGa-FSMAP/epoxy smart composites exhibit both tensile ductility and SME, and that shape memory properties become improved by decreasing particle size of FSMAP. It is concluded that the FSMAP/polymer smart composite has a large potential to be a new practical actuator material.