A view into additive manufactured electro-active reinforced smart composite structures

Shape Memory Polymers (SMPs) and their composites (SMPCs) offer great properties, such as low cost and tailorability. Heat-activated SMPs and SMPCs are widely studied under controlled laboratory conditions, but their field applications did not receive thorough attention because manufacturing them with integrated heating elements for this use is very challenging. This work proposes and demonstrates an alternative novel solution to manufacture and activate a SMPC through resistive heating by using extrusion based additive manufacturing. Successful manufacturing of these materials can lead to broader use in strategically critical applications (biomedical stents, sports equipment, and unmanned air vehicles (UAVs)).