Preparation And Analysis Of The Deployment Behavior Of Shape Memory Polymer Composite Antennas

Shape memory polymer composites have been studied for deployable antennas in space because they have advantages of lightweight, large deformability, good processability, and low cost. In this research, shape memory polymer composites (SMPCs) were manufactured using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as reinforcements and were used to fabricate SMPC antenna. The SMPCs were prepared by dispersing CNTs in the polymer matrix. Various dispersion methods were investigated to determine the most suitable one, focusing on the mechanical properties of SMPCs including their fracture behavior. The shape memory properties of SMPCs were measured and finally, the deployment behavior of the SMPC antenna was analyzed.