Recent advances in the design, fabrication, actuation mechanisms and applications of liquid crystal elastomers
Recent advances in the design, fabrication, actuation mechanisms and applications of liquid crystal elastomers

Author: Yue Xiao

Publisher: OAE Publishing Inc.

Published: 2023-04-15

Total Pages: 26

ISBN-13:

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Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), as an intriguing class of soft active materials, exhibit excellent actuation performances and biocompatible properties, as well as a high degree of design flexibility, which have been of increasing interest in many disciplines. This review summarizes recent developments in this inspiring area, providing an overview of fabrication methods, design schemes, actuation mechanisms, and diverse applications of LCEs. Firstly, two-stage and one-pot synthesis methods, as well as emerging fabrication techniques (e.g., 3D/4D printing and top-down microfabrication techniques) are introduced. Secondly, the design and actuation mechanisms are discussed according to the different types of stimuli (e.g., heat, light, and electric/magnetic fields, among others). Thirdly, the representative applications are summarized, including soft robotics, temperature/strain sensors, biomedical devices, stretchable displays, and smart textiles. Finally, outlooks on the scientific challenges and open opportunities are provided.

Liquid Crystal Elastomers
Liquid Crystal Elastomers

Author: Mark Warner

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2007-04-05

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 9780199214860

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This text is a primer for liquid crystals, polymers, rubber and elasticity. It is directed at physicists, chemists, material scientists, engineers and applied mathematicians at the graduate student level and beyond.

Electroactive Polymer (EAP) Actuators as Artificial Muscles
Electroactive Polymer (EAP) Actuators as Artificial Muscles

Author: Yoseph Bar-Cohen

Publisher: SPIE Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 790

ISBN-13: 9780819452979

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Covers the field of EAP with attention to all aspects and full infrastructure, including the available materials, analytical models, processing techniques, and characterization methods. This second edition covers advances in EAP in electric EAP, electroactive polymer gels, ionomeric polymer-metal composites, and carbon nanotube actuators.

Electroactive Polymers for Robotic Applications
Electroactive Polymers for Robotic Applications

Author: Kwang J. Kim

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-01-17

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1846283728

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This book covers the fundamental properties, modeling, and demonstration of Electroactive polymers in robotic applications. It particularly details artificial muscles and sensors. In addition, the book discusses the properties and uses in robotics applications of ionic polymer–metal composite actuators and dielectric elastomers.

Soft Actuators
Soft Actuators

Author: Kinji Asaka

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2019-08-28

Total Pages: 722

ISBN-13: 9811368503

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This book is the second edition of Soft Actuators, originally published in 2014, with 12 chapters added to the first edition. The subject of this new edition is current comprehensive research and development of soft actuators, covering interdisciplinary study of materials science, mechanics, electronics, robotics, and bioscience. The book includes contemporary research of actuators based on biomaterials for their potential in future artificial muscle technology. Readers will find detailed and useful information about materials, methods of synthesis, fabrication, and measurements to study soft actuators. Additionally, the topics of materials, modeling, and applications not only promote the further research and development of soft actuators, but bring benefits for utilization and industrialization. This volume makes generous use of color figures, diagrams, and photographs that provide easy-to-understand descriptions of the mechanisms, apparatus, and motions of soft actuators. Also, in this second edition the chapters on modeling, materials design, and device design have been given a wider scope and made easier to comprehend, which will be helpful in practical applications of soft actuators. Readers of this work can acquire the newest technology and information about basic science and practical applications of flexible, lightweight, and noiseless soft actuators, which differ from conventional mechanical engines and electric motors. This new edition of Soft Actuators will inspire readers with fresh ideas and encourage their research and development, thus opening up a new field of applications for the utilization and industrialization of soft actuators.

Shape Memory Polymers
Shape Memory Polymers

Author: Jinlian Hu

Publisher: Smithers Rapra

Published: 2014-05-27

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 1909030333

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Shape-memory polymers (SMP) are a unique branch of the smart materials family which are capable of changing shape on-demand upon exposure to external stimulus. The discovery of SMP made a significant breakthrough in the developments of novel smart materials for a variety of engineering applications, superseded the traditional materials, and also influenced the current methods of product designing. This book provides the latest advanced information of on-going research domains of SMP. This will certainly enlighten the reader to the achievements and tremendous potentials of SMP. The basic fundamentals of SMP, including shape-memory mechanisms and mechanics are described. This will aid reader to become more familiar with SMP and the basic concepts, thus guiding them in undergoing independent research in the SMP field. The book also provides the reader with associated challenges and existing application problems of SMP. This could assist the reader to focus more on these issues and further exploit their knowledge to look for innovative solutions. Future outlooks of SMP research are discussed as well. This book should prove to be extremely useful for academics, R&D managers, researcher scientists, engineers, and all others related to the SMP research.

Artificial Cilia
Artificial Cilia

Author: Jaap MJ den Toonder

Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry

Published: 2013-05-31

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 1849737096

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Cilia are tiny hairs covering biological cells to generate and sense fluid flow. Millions of years of evolution have inspired a novel technology which is barely a decade old. Artificial cilia have been developed to control and sense fluid flow in microscopic systems, presenting new and interesting options for flow control in lab-on-a-chip devices. This appealing link between nature and technology has seen rapid development in the last few years, and this book presents a review of the state-of-the-art in the form of a professional reference book. The editors have pioneered the field, having initiated a major European project on this topic soon after its inception. Active researchers in academia and industry will benefit from the comprehensive nature of this book, while postgraduates and those new to the field will gain a clear understanding of the theory, techniques and applications of artificial cilia.

Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting
Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting

Author: Alper Erturk

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-04-04

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 1119991358

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The transformation of vibrations into electric energy through the use of piezoelectric devices is an exciting and rapidly developing area of research with a widening range of applications constantly materialising. With Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting, world-leading researchers provide a timely and comprehensive coverage of the electromechanical modelling and applications of piezoelectric energy harvesters. They present principal modelling approaches, synthesizing fundamental material related to mechanical, aerospace, civil, electrical and materials engineering disciplines for vibration-based energy harvesting using piezoelectric transduction. Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting provides the first comprehensive treatment of distributed-parameter electromechanical modelling for piezoelectric energy harvesting with extensive case studies including experimental validations, and is the first book to address modelling of various forms of excitation in piezoelectric energy harvesting, ranging from airflow excitation to moving loads, thus ensuring its relevance to engineers in fields as disparate as aerospace engineering and civil engineering. Coverage includes: Analytical and approximate analytical distributed-parameter electromechanical models with illustrative theoretical case studies as well as extensive experimental validations Several problems of piezoelectric energy harvesting ranging from simple harmonic excitation to random vibrations Details of introducing and modelling piezoelectric coupling for various problems Modelling and exploiting nonlinear dynamics for performance enhancement, supported with experimental verifications Applications ranging from moving load excitation of slender bridges to airflow excitation of aeroelastic sections A review of standard nonlinear energy harvesting circuits with modelling aspects.

Bioinspired Actuators and Sensors
Bioinspired Actuators and Sensors

Author: Minoru Taya

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-10-13

Total Pages: 539

ISBN-13: 1107065380

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From experts in engineering and biology, this is the first book to integrate sensor and actuator technology with bioinspired design.

Materials that Move
Materials that Move

Author: Murat Bengisu

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-04-25

Total Pages: 147

ISBN-13: 3319768891

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This book presents a design-driven investigation into smart materials developed by chemists, physicists, materials and chemical engineers, and applied by designers to consumer products, buildings, interfaces, or textiles. Introducing a class of smart materials (referred to as stimuli-responsive, morphing or kinetic materials) that move and change their shape in response to stimuli, the book presents their characteristics, advantages, potentials, as well as the difficulties involved in their application. The book also presents a large number of case studies on products, projects, concepts, and experiments employing smart materials, thus mapping out new design territories for these innovative materials. The case studies involve different fields of design, including product, interior, fashion, and communication design. Reflecting the growing demand for sustainable and human-centered design agendas, the book explores and reveals the role and influence of these new materials and technologies on design and human experience, and discusses how they can be used to redefine our objects and spaces so as to promote more resilient environments. The book offers an intriguing and valuable resource for design professionals, engineers, scientists and students alike.