Micro-buckling of carbon fibers in shape memory polymer composites under bending in the glass transition temperature region

Abstract The influence of a wide temperature range in the glass transition region of a shape memory polymer (SMP) matrix on micro-buckling of the fiber reinforcements in shape memory polymer composites (SMPC) under large bending deformation is described. Analytical expressions to estimate the strain energy, neutral strain surface, critical buckling surface and half wavelength of the buckled fibers in the SMPC are presented based on the minimum energy method. This study considers the reinforced fibers as three-dimensional elastic bodies and the matrix as a temperature stimulated flat plate. A comprehensive study was performed to understand the dynamic temperature behavior of the micro-buckled fibers and corresponding results were validated by previous works in the literature. The effects of fiber volume fraction and thickness of the SMPC plates on the half wavelength are also discussed along with the simultaneous influence of temperature on the parameters computed in the minimum energy analysis.