Design parameters for magneto-elastic soft actuators

• Published in: Smart materials and structures 2010-05, Vol.19 (5), p.055017-055017
• Main Authors: Snyder, R L, Nguyen, V Q, Ramanujan, R V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actuation; Actuators; Applied sciences; Composites; Deformation; Design parameters; Elongation; Exact sciences and technology; Forms of application and semi-finished materials; General equipment and techniques; Hysteresis; Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy; Magnetic fields; Magnetic properties; Magnetostriction; Physics; Polymer industry, paints, wood; Technology of polymers; Transducers
• ISSN: 0964-1726; 1361-665X
• DOI: 10.1088/0964-1726/19/5/055017

Novel soft actuators can be designed from ferrogels by combining the elastic behavior of a polymer matrix with the magnetic properties of a magnetic filler. A thorough understanding of the mechanical behavior of ferrogel actuation is essential for optimizing actuator performance. For actuation by linear magnetostriction, the influence of geometrical parameters on the onset and magnitude of hysteretic loss, the range for the continuous deformation ratio, the rate of change of the deformation ratio with respect to the field strength, and the saturation elongation were modeled. These results demonstrate that geometrical design parameters such as specimen length, aspect ratio, and distance from the magnetic field source can be used to tune the performance of ferrogels.