Thermo-mechanical constitutive modeling of shape memory polyurethanes using a phenomenological approach

This study examined the constitutive modeling of shape memory polyurethanes (SMPUs). SMPUs exhibit a thermo-responsive shape memory behavior, i.e., a thermally fixed temporary shape at a low temperature that returns to its original (permanent) shape when heated. This unique property arises from the molecular configuration of their hard and soft segments; the latter can form a variable state ranging from a rubbery (active) to rigid (frozen) phase according to temperature, while the former undergoes little deformation and acts as a fixed net between the soft segments. In this study, a three-phase phenomenological model (one hard segment phase and two (active and frozen) soft segment phases) was developed to describe the deformation behavior of SMPUs according to their microstructure. The stress and strain relationships of each phase are described mathematically using one three-element viscoelastic and two Mooney–Rivlin hyperelastic equations, respectively. The total stress was calculated by combining those equations via some internal variables that can track the volume fractions of the active and frozen phases and a non-mechanical frozen strain. For validation, the cyclic thermo-mechanical behavior of a SMPU was predicted. These predictions were compared with the experimental results with reasonable agreement between them.