Self-Rotation of Electrothermally Responsive Liquid Crystal Elastomer-Based Turntable in Steady-State Circuits

Self-excited motions, characterized by their ability to harness energy from a consistent environment and self-regulate, exhibit significant potential in micro-devices, autonomous robotics, sensor technology, and energy generation. This study introduces an innovative turntable system based on an elec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymers 2023-12, Vol.15 (23), p.4598
Main Authors: Yuan, Zongsong, Liu, Junxiu, Qian, Guqian, Dai, Yuntong, Li, Kai
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amplitudes
Analysis
Chemical processes
Circuits
Damping
Dynamical systems
Elastic limit
Elastomers
Electric properties
Energy
Energy harvesting
Equilibrium
Heat
Liquid crystals
Mathematical models
Mechanical properties
Medical devices
Medical equipment
Medical technology
Methods
Nanotechnology devices
Nonlinear dynamics
Parameters
Phase transitions
Polymers
Robotics
Rotating liquids
Rotation
Runge-Kutta method
Soft robotics
Steady state
Thermal properties
Turntables
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Summary:Self-excited motions, characterized by their ability to harness energy from a consistent environment and self-regulate, exhibit significant potential in micro-devices, autonomous robotics, sensor technology, and energy generation. This study introduces an innovative turntable system based on an electrothermally responsive liquid crystal elastomer (LCE). This system facilitates self-rotation within a steady-state circuit. Employing an electrothermal LCE model, we have modeled and numerically analyzed the nonlinear dynamics of an LCE-rope within steady-state circuits, utilizing the four-order Runge-Kutta method for calculations. The numerical results reveal the emergence of two distinct motion patterns in the turntable system under steady-state conditions: a self-rotation pattern and a static pattern. The self-rotation is initiated when the system's absorbed energy surpasses the energy lost due to damping effects. Furthermore, this paper delves into the critical conditions necessary for initiating self-rotation and examines the influence of various key dimensionless parameters on the system's rotation amplitude and frequency. These parameters include gravitational acceleration, the initial position of the mass ball, elastic stiffness of the LCE and spring, limiting temperature, heating zone angle, thermal shrinkage coefficient, and damping factor. Our computational findings establish that these parameters exert a modulatory impact on the rotation amplitude and period. This research enhances the understanding of self-excited motions and offers promising avenues for applications in energy harvesting, monitoring, soft robotics, medical devices, and micro- and nano-devices.
ISSN:2073-4360
2073-4360
DOI:10.3390/polym15234598