A simulation method to analyze chemo‐mechanical behavior of swelling‐induced shape‐memory polymer in response to solvent |
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| Authors: | Haibao Lu |
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| Affiliation: | National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Advanced Composites in Special Environments, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, People's Republic of China |
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| Abstract: | A network of thermally responsive shape‐memory polymers (SMPs) could imbibe a quantity of solvent molecules to swell, and subsequently induces a chemical potential change in polymer. When an equilibrium is reached between the mechanical load and the chemical potential of polymer network and solvent, the SMP polymer usually swells with a field of inhomogeneous and anisotropic deformation, which is considered to be equivalent to a hyperelastic field. We implement this theory in the free‐energy function equation, and analyze examples of swelling‐induced deformation and shape recovery behavior. This work may provide a powerful tool to study complex swelling‐induced shape‐memory behavior of SMPs in response to the immersing solvents. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011 |
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| Keywords: | chemo‐mechanical free‐energy function responsive shape‐memory polymer |
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