Temperature scanning stress relaxation measurements: A unique perspective for evaluation of the thermomechanical behavior of shape memory polymer blends

Abstract

ABSTRACTShape memory polymer has the inherent capability of fixing its shape to a deformed or unconstrained shape that gives the material shape fixity and to revert back to its permanent shape that results shape recovery of the material. Temperature scanning stress relaxation (TSSR) studies of uncrosslinked and radiation crosslinked polymer blends of ethylene octene copolymer and ethylene propylene diene rubber has been carried out over a certain temperature range that gives the idea about the thermomechanical behavior of the material. With increasing radiation dose, TSSR index value of the radiation crosslinked blends increases, which is an indication of the improvement of the elasticity of the crosslinked network and thus results better shape recovery of the crosslinked blends when compared to the uncrosslinked one. Higher elasticity of the crosslinked network is also well supported by higher crosslink density and lower tension set value of the radiation crosslinked blends. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 45680.