Soft Actuation in Space Environment Through Autoclave-Molded Shape Memory Polymer Composites with Embedded Heater

Telecommunication, energy generation, defense and research are just a few of the sectors that need to deploy structures in the space environment. Traditional systems are complex and expensive and, as a result, there is a critical need for new solutions. Shape memory polymer composites (SMPCs) have the potential to be used in such systems, since they can provide an actuation load during shape recovery. In this paper, an SMPC device with an embedded heat source, used to trigger the shape change, was manufactured by hand lamination and autoclave molding. A thermo-mechanical cycle was applied to investigate the SM ability. Tests were performed by powering the heat source from 20 V to 24 V. Recovery angle and recovery speed were evaluated at 24 V. Microscopy showed that a good level of agglomeration was reached thanks to autoclave molding, with the functional interlayer being uniformly distributed. SM tests underlined that the recovery load was not affected by the memory temperature and, regardless of the activation temperature, it always reached the same plateau value. Finally, the SMPC device was integrated into a 1U CubeSat and used to deploy one of its sides; an opening of 28 deg was obtained in only 45 s.