ABSTRACT
This article investigates (experimentally and numerically) the time and temperature-dependent folding and unfolding behavior, including the structural nonlinearity, of thin-walled softenable composite structures. The composites are fabricated with woven fabric fibers and a heat softenable material of the shape memory polymer (SMP) resin. A numerical model is developed. The model is based on the elastic properties of the woven fabric fibers, their fabric geometry, and the thermo-viscoelastic properties of the SMP resin. A thin-walled cylindrical boom, which can be flexibly folded into an arbitrary configuration and be self-deployed, is fabricated using the heat softenable composite. The viscoelasticity and the shape memory behaviors are investigated during the folding and unfolding of the boom at elevated temperatures.
Funding
This work was supported by the research fund of Survivability Technology Defense Research Center of Agency for Defense Development of Korea (No. UD150013ID).