The key feature of a typical EMC hinge/actuator is a pair of cylindrical TEMBO^® EMC laminate blades fabricated using carbon-fiber reinforcement and one of CTD’s TEMBO^® shape memory polymer resins. The TEMBO^® family of shape memory polymer (SMP) resins are high-strain-to-failure, fully cured, thermoset (i.e., epoxy or cyanate ester) resins that provide excellent shape memory performance and enable very robust packaging and deployment of the TEMBO^®hinge/actuator over many cycles and a wide range of operating temperatures.  These TEMBO^® EMC laminate blades also incorporate redundant integrated electrical heaters, thus allowing for a controlled, low-shock deployment upon heating and a rigidly locked structure at the end of deployment.  The deployment motion is very smooth and well damped, and the deployment trajectory is very similar to that of a traditional pin-clevis mechanical hinge.

Thermo-Mechanical Process:  Once the SMP resin has been heated to the activation temperature, it can be physically deformed without inducing failure.  After the desired shape has been otained, the resin is cooled and the shape will be locked.  In the deformed shape, the hinge stored the strain energy supplied by the reinforcing fibers in teh composite.  In order to deploy the hinge, the SMP resin is heated to the activation temperature and the strain energy in the compoiste is slowly relased in a controlled and damped manner.

Satellite Integration and Deployment:  CTD’s EMC Hinges have successfully completed extensive ground testing

Satellite Integration and Test:  CTD’s EMC Hinges have been integrated and test as part of a full satellite system

Flight Heritage:  CTD’s EMC Hinges have been tested in space as part of a flight experiment on the space station