Description of the shape memory effect of radiation-modified polymers under thermomechanical action

The 'shape memory' effect of crystallizing polymer materials is simulated. The polymer is considered to be an inhomogeneous medium with a moving boundary (temperature-dependent phase composition). Using a model based on the 'frozen strain' hypothesis, the temperature dependences of stresses under isometric heating and cooling have been obtained. On the basis of the known data on the influence of gamma-irradiation on the thermomechanical characteristics the dependences of thermorelaxation and thermoshrinkage stresses on the absorbed dose for high-density polyethylene have been found. (Authors)