Fellowship for Jared Fulcher: Multi-scale Mechanical Characterizations of Shape Memory Polymers for Reconfigurable Aerospace Structures

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) have been increasingly used on air and space vehicles {personal and commercial air vehicles, the interplanetary habitats, the International Space Station, unmanned air vehicles. etc,) to yield reconfigurabte structures (morphing structures), However, the success of morprnng air vehicles is currently limited by the material systems that can provide both rapid reconfiguration and long-term durability. To date. the shape memory polymers have not been fully tested to work in relevant environments {vanable activation temperature, fuel and water swell, UV radiation, etc.) required for NASA missions. Failure of polymer materials in aggressive environments will have a direct impact on reconfigurab!e ability of the aircrafts and fleet readiness of aerospace missions, It is thus critical to examine the shape recovery ability and mechanical properties on of SMPs conditioned at relevant service environments so that the true reconfigurable ability of the SMPs can be predicted. The present project is to conduct multi-scale mechanical characterizations to access the shape recovery ability and mechanical properties of the SMPs prepared in simulated service environments designed to be reflective of anticipated perfonnance requirements, The epoxy-based SMPs are conditioned by: (1) exposure to UV radiation for 125 cycles, (2) immersing in jet·oil at ambient temperature, (3) immersing in jet-oo at 49°C, and (4) immersing in water at 4~tC