Repeatable compressive functionality of 3D printed shape-memory thin-walled corrugated structures

Abstract

This work aimed to investigate the compressive and shape recovery performance of the 3D printed shape-memory corrugated tubes (SMCTs). The structures were manufactured by fused deposition modeling technique and made from the shape memory polymer. The effects of corrugation number and amplitude on crushing and shape recovery behaviors were studied by shape memory experiment. Compression experimental results indicated that the mode transition of diamond-mixed-ring occurred with the corrugation number and amplitude increasing. After induced by thermal actuation, all structures could complete the shape recovery process with the shape recovery ratio above 98% within 20 s. Ten consecutive shape memory (compressive and recovery) cycles were carried out to analyze the repeatable compression functionality. The specific energy absorption of corrugated tubes presented the significant convergent tendency, while straight tubes showed a continuous decrease. The repeatable compressive and recovery characteristics with stable mechanical properties were achieved by applying the corrugation design. The theoretical model was developed to predict the mean crushing force of SMCTs in each cycle. Considering the shape memory cycling effect, the attenuation coefficient was introduced into the model. The prediction data for SMCTs were well agreed to the experimental results. The finding of this study offered a promising design concept for developing the advanced reversible energy absorber and implementing in multi-functional applications.