Cured Shapes and Snap-Through Loads Analysis of Bi-Stable Polyimide Film Hybrid Composite Laminates

Bi-stable composite laminates have potential in application on conformal, morphing and deployable structures due to their bi-stable, load-bearing, deformable and conformal characteristics. To expand their applications in multifunctional structures, other functional components (such as flexible sensors networks, flexible antennas and other large-area flexible electronic systems) are required to integrate into the bi-stable composite laminates. Polyimide (PI) film usually serves as the substrate of flexible electronics due to its excellent mechanical, thermal and chemical properties. In this study, the cured shapes and snap-through loads of the bi-stable polyimide film hybrid composite laminates are numerically and experimentally studied. The lay-ups of the bi-stable polyimide film hybrid composite laminate are [PI/0₂/90₂], [0₂/PI/90₂], [0₂/90₂/PI], [PI/0₂/90₂/PI], [PI/0₂/PI/90₂/PI], respectively. The results from the finite element analysis are compared with the experimental ones and show good agreements.