Shape Memory Polymers

Book excerpt: Shape-memory polymers (SMP) are a unique branch of the smart materials family which are capable of changing shape on-demand upon exposure to external stimulus. The discovery of SMP made a significant breakthrough in the developments of novel smart materials for a variety of engineering applications, superseded the traditional materials, and also influenced the current methods of product designing. This book provides the latest advanced information of on-going research domains of SMP. This will certainly enlighten the reader to the achievements and tremendous potentials of SMP. The basic fundamentals of SMP, including shape-memory mechanisms and mechanics are described. This will aid reader to become more familiar with SMP and the basic concepts, thus guiding them in undergoing independent research in the SMP field. The book also provides the reader with associated challenges and existing application problems of SMP. This could assist the reader to focus more on these issues and further exploit their knowledge to look for innovative solutions. Future outlooks of SMP research are discussed as well. This book should prove to be extremely useful for academics, R&D managers, researcher scientists, engineers, and all others related to the SMP research.