Issues for consideration in the design of shape memory polymer systems

The paper discusses the important issues that have to be taken into consideration in the design of shape memory polymer (SMP) based devices. The study involves identification of performance parameters that link the material design and analysis to design of these devices. With the aim of understanding the dependence of the shape memory effect on parameters that affect it in terms of molecular makeup and thermo-mechanical loading conditions, the response of a shape memory polymer is studied. An attempt has been made here to develop a simple mechanistic model that simulates essential features of a 1-D SMP behavior with reasonable association with the performance parameters. The simulations show that the essential features of the response can be captured by this simple model.