Thermo-Mechanical Testing of Epoxy Shape Memory Polymer Composites

In this work the two epoxy composites the controlled behavior of composite material (CBCM) and the thermally activated symmetrical composite (SYMM) have been tested for their shape memory property. These composites have been heated above their glass transition temperature (Tg) and deformed to the same displacement. The activated position has been taken as the reference point for displacement measurements during the fixing cycle. During the recovery, two types of tests have been conducted: Unconstrained recovery test and constrained recovery test. It has been found that the recovery of CBCM plate is better as compared to the SYMM plate (unconstrained recovery test). Similarly, it has been found that CBCM plate produces larger forces of recovery than SYMM plates (constrained recovery test).