Flexural and shape memory properties of unidirectional glass and carbon fibers reinforced hybrid shape memory polymer composites

Abstract There has been a lot of research on hybrid composites, but most of the research is limited to traditional composites. As a kind of thermo-responsive material, the mechanical properties of shape memory polymer composites (SMPCs) vary dramatically with temperature, so researches on the isothermal mechanical properties of hybrid SMPCs under different temperatures are necessary. This paper investigates the flexural and shape memory performances of carbon fiber (CF) and glass fiber (GF) reinforced hybrid SMPCs. After determining the lamina properties of CF and GF laminae at different temperatures, the flexural properties of hybrid SMPCs were predicted by simulation and theoretical calculations, which agreed well with the subsequent experimental results. The failure modes, dynamic thermomechanical properties, and shape memory properties of hybrid SMPCs with different fiber stacking configurations at different temperatures were then investigated. Finally, the effects of hybrid ratios on the flexural moduli of hybrid SMPCs at different temperatures were studied.