Shape programming of polymeric based electrothermal actuator (ETA) via artificially induced stress relaxation

Electrothermal actuators (ETAs) are a new generation of active materials that can produce different motions from thermal expansion induced by Joule heating. It is well-known that the degree of deformation is determined by the amount of Joule heating and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2019-08, Vol.9 (1), p.11445-12, Article 11445
Main Authors: Sun, Yu-Chen, Leaker, Benjamin D., Lee, Ji Eun, Nam, Ryan, Naguib, Hani E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/166/988
639/301/923/1028
Electric fields
Electrical conductivity
Heat
Heating
Humanities and Social Sciences
multidisciplinary
Phase transitions
Polymers
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Thermal expansion
Voltage
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Summary:Electrothermal actuators (ETAs) are a new generation of active materials that can produce different motions from thermal expansion induced by Joule heating. It is well-known that the degree of deformation is determined by the amount of Joule heating and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the material. Previous works on polymeric ETAs are strongly focused on increasing electrical conductivity by utilizing super-aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets. This allows greater deformation for the same drive voltage. Despite these accomplishments with low-voltage actuation, many of the ETAs were constructed to have basic geometries such as a simple cantilever shape. In this paper, it was discovered that shape of polymeric ETA can be programmed into a desired configuration by applying an induced stress relaxation mechanism and post secondary curing. By utilizing such effects, an ETA can be programmed into a curled resting state which allows the actuator to achieve an active bending angle over 540°, a value far greater than any previous studies. This shape programming feature also allows for tailoring the actuator configuration to a specific application. This is demonstrated here by fabricating a small crawling soft robot similar to mimic an inchworm motion.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-47949-0