It is of theoretical and engineering interest to establish a macro-mechanical constitutive model of the shape memory polymer (SMP), which includes the mechanical constitutive equation and the material parameter function, from the viewpoint of practical application. In this paper, a new three-dimensional macro-mechanical constitutive equation, which describes the mechanical behaviors associated with the shape memory effect of SMP, is developed based on solid mechanics and the viscoelasticity theorem. According to the results of the DMA test, a new material parameter function is established to express the relationship of the material parameters and temperature during the glass transition of SMP. The new macro-mechanical constitutive equation and material parameter function are used to numerically simulate the process producing the shape memory effect of SMP, which includes deforming at high temperature, stress freezing, unloading at low temperature and shape recovery. They are also used to investigate and analyze the influences of loading rate and temperature change rate on the thermo-mechanical behaviors of SMP. The numerical results and the comparisons with Zhou’s material parameter function and Tobushi’s mechanical constitutive equation illustrate that the proposed three-dimensional macro-mechanical constitutive model can effectively predict the thermo-mechanical behaviors of SMP under the state of complex stress.
It is of practical interest to establish a precise constitutive model which includes the equations describing the phase transformation behaviors and thermo-mechanical processes of shape memory alloy (SMA). The microscopic mechanism of super elasticity and shape memory effect of SMA is explained based on the concept of shape memory factor defined by the author of this paper. The conventional super elasticity and shape memory effect of SMA are further unified as shape memory effect. Shape memory factor is redefined in order to make clear its physical meaning. A new shape memory evolution equation is developed to predict the phase transformation behaviors of SMA based on the differential relationship between martensitic volume fraction and phase transformation free energy and the results of DSC test. It overcomes the limitations that the previous shape memory evolution equations or phase transformation equations fail to express the influences of the phase transformation peak temperatures on the phase transformation behaviors and the transformation from twinned martensite to detwinned martensite occurring in SMA. A new macro-mechanical constitutive equation is established to predict the thermo-mechanical processes realizing the shape memory effect of SMA from the expression of Gibbs free energy. It is expanded from one-dimension to three-dimension with assuming SMA as isotropic material. All material constants in the new constitutive equation can be determined from macroscopic experiments, which makes it more easily used in practical applications.
