Progress of shape memory polymers and their composites in aerospace applications
Open accessAbstract
Shape memory polymers and their composites are kind of smart materials, which can transfer from the temporarily fixed configuration to the original configuration under external stimuli. Their inherent advantages are low density, low cost, large recoverable deformation ability and controllable stimulus method, which make them an alternative for aerospace applications (deployable structures, release devices, wrinkled/slack control component, etc). Most of these applications are in development stage, some have completed the ground functional verification experiments, a rare part has been carried out the spaceflight experiments. This review focuses on their materials and structures in aerospace field, briefly introduces the development history and general mechanism of shape memory polymers and their composites, replenishes the space radiation resistance abilities of these materials under the ground-simulated space radiation experiments, tracks those applications who have already completed the spaceflight experiments, then exhibits some novel applications which have great potential and could give us inspirations for new aerospace application development, finally the prospects for materials and structures are discussed in the future outlook.
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The paper achieved a 4D printable shape memory hydrogel that operates via spinodal decomposition, with shape-shifting dominated by internal mass diffusion instead of thermal conduction.
“Here, we achieve this seemingly unrealistic goal with a 4D printable shape memory hydrogel that operates via spinodal decomposition, with its shape-shifting dominated by internal mass diffusion instead of thermal conduction for common shape memory polymers8-10,13.”
From Shape memory polymer with programmable recovery onset (2023) · cites this paper as [9]
The citation is attached to the comparison with common shape-memory polymers, not to the citing authors’ claim that they made a hydrogel. The source’s §7 (Future outlook; page unavailable) says most aerospace shape-memory polymers and composites are thermally induced and require heat for deployment, but it does not say their shape-shifting is dominated by thermal conduction. (LLM, conf=0.78)
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References 164 · Cited by 180
Research works printed but not linked: 5
- Irie M 1998 Shape Memory Polymers (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) pp 203-19
- Lendlein A and Kelch S 2002 Shape-memory polymers Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 41 2034-57 · DOI
- Gall K, Dunn M L, Liu Y, Finch D, Lake M and Munshi N A 2002 Shape memory polymer nanocomposites Acta Mater. 50 5115-26 · DOI · Paper page
- Ramani T 2017 Thermo-mechanical characterization of carbon-reinforced shape memory polymer Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree in Engineering USA University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Srinivasan V and Banks B A 1990 Materials degradation in low earth orbit (LEO) Proc. Symp., 119th Annual Meeting of the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society 17-22
- Authors
- Li, F., Liu, Y., & Leng, J.
- Affiliations
- Harbin Institute of Technology (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Li, Fengfeng
- Liu, Yanju
- Venue
- Smart Materials and Structures
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing
- Published
- 2019-09-23
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 103003
- ISSN
- 0964-1726 (ISSN-L)
- 1361-665X
- OpenAlex
- W2969794893
- Cited by
- 180
- References
- 164
- Citations by year
- 2026: 24 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 6
- FWCI
- 7.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Smart Materials and Structures (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- China Scholarship Council
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (11632005)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Advanced Materials and Mechanics
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Polymer composites and self-healing
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Dielectric materials and actuators
- Keywords
- shape memory polymers, shape memory polymer composites, smart materials, deployable structures, space radiation resistance, spaceflight experiments, reversible deformation, aerospace applications
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