The study of active disassembly by using shape memory polymers

With the increasing amount and diversity of electric products and the need for recycling and remanufacturing products, a generic, efficient disassembly method becomes necessary. The previous researches about shape memory polymers (SMP) used in active disassembly show the difficulty of reusing those SMP fasteners. And almost all of SMP fasteners were manufactured by molding from the original shape and were used to just retrofit products, which restricted the design and application of active disassembly using shape memory polymers (ADSMP). In this thesis, the author aimed to improve the reliability and reusability of a kind of SMP snap-fit. The factors analysis was used to figure out the main effect and interaction effect of the design parameters. Besides, the finite element analysis software-ABAQUS was used to simulate the behavior of SMP and compared with the result from the experiments. A box was designed and manufactured to demonstrate the feasibility of active disassembly by using this kind of SMP snap-fit. More complex designs can be achieved with the application of 3D printer, which will free the ADSMP element design. These conclusion and methods provide a reference for further ADSMP research. Keywords: shape memory polymer; active disassembly; design for recycling; design for remanufacturing; active disassembly using smart materials modelin