A variable-order fractional differential equation model of shape memory polymers

In this paper we argue that a variable-order fractional differential equation model of the shape-memory behavior is more suitable than constant-order fractional differential equation models in terms of modeling the memory behavior of SMPs. We develop a numerical method to simulate the variable-order model and, in particular, to identify the unknown variable order of the model. Numerical experiments are presented to show the utility of the method.