Mechanisms of the multi-shape memory effect and temperature memory effect in shape memory polymers

As recently demonstrated, after programming, thermo-responsive shape memory polymers can exhibit the multi-shape memory effect (SME) upon heating. In addition, it is confirmed that the temperature corresponding to the maximum recovery stress in constrained recovery is roughly the temperature at which pre-deformation is conducted, a phenomenon known as the temperature memory effect (TME). In this paper, we propose a framework to investigate the underlying mechanisms behind both effects and provide the conditions for the TME. According to this framework, we can achieve fully controllable shape recovery following a very complicated sequence in a continuous manner.