Shape Memory Foams (See Verilyte™)
As a component in syntactic structural
foams, shape memory polymer offers unique properties. CRG’s
version can function as a deployable or conformal composite
foam core in its elastic form, or as a structural foam core
in its rigid state. Like SMP resins and shape memory composites,
shape memory foams can be manipulated thermally.
Current formulations have densities
ranging from 0.4 to 0.1 g/cc, with expansion ranges up to
400% demonstrated. These qualities provide the ability to
fabricate adaptive composite structures with foam core, with
the ability to soften the structural foam element, alter its
shape, then return it to a rigid state in its new configuration.
Shape memory foam can be reshaped
multiple times. As with the resin and the composites, the
foam can be tailored with a very specific temperature range
in which it transitions between rigid and pliable states.
Some applications include dynamic structural support, flexible
foam core, and expandable foam fill.
 
The animation on the left above shows a
piece of shape memory foam in a compacted or compressed configuration,
ready for deployment and then heated and returning to its
"memorized" configuration. The animation on the
right demonstrates the use of shape memory foam as deployable
wire support built into a conduit.
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