Smart compression system using shape

Smart compression system using shape memory fibers... 

Herein, we unveil a unique compression system using shape memory polymer (SMP) to counter the above problems. SMPs are smart materials that can memorize the original shape so that they can recover from a temporary deformed shape upon exposure to an external stimulus, eg, heat, light, water, etc. SMPs have gained scientific significance over the last 10 years in the development of many potentially innovative products [7—11]. At present, thermally sensitive SMPs are successfully employed in many... 

As indicated above, compression programming of the smart foam core was coupled with the curing of the sandwich panels. In this study, stress-controlled programming with a constant compressive stress of 0.05 MPa was used. The programming process started by heating the sandwich panel to 75 °C. After that, a pressure of 0.05 MPa was applied by the vacuum system. This temperature and pressure were maintained for 24 hours. Then the temperature was raised to 90 °C and maintained for 3 hours. The sandwich was then heated to 100 °C and the temperature was maintained for another 3 hours (step 1). After that the sandwich panel was cooled down to room temperature in about 6 hours while maintaining the stress level (step 2). After 0.5 hours at room temperature, the pressure was removed (step 3). This completed the three-step shape fixity process and the sandwich panels were ready for impact testing. 

---