safety reasons. Overall, good results were obtained and important information were acquired
for defining a multi-functional composite structure for future experiments. Foam actuator
made in space can be tested for compression, torsion, and flexure, but in the case of
compression, attention has to be made to have a continuous contact between the foam walls
and the heating walls during recovery. As a general conclusion, microgravity does not have
much effect on the ability of the foams to recover the initial shape but strongly influences the
behavior of the heating devices and, therefore, the efficiency of the foam recovery.
PUBLICATION(S)
Santo L. Recent developments in the field of shape memory epoxy foams. Materials Science
Forum. May 2014;783-786:2523-2530. doi: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.783-786.2523.
Santo L, Quadrini F, Mascetti G, Dolce F, Zolesi V. Mission STS-134: Results of shape memory
foam experiment. Acta Astronautica. October 2013 ; 91: 333-340. doi:
10.1016/j.actaastro.2013.06.017.
Santo L, Quadrini F, Squeo EA, et al. Behavior of shape memory epoxy foams in microgravity:
Experimental results of STS-134 Mission. Microgravity Science and Technology. September
2012;24(4):287-296. doi: 10.1007/s12217- 012 -9313-x.
This investigation is complete, and all results are published.