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- Title
A New Class of Single‐Material, Non‐Reciprocal Microactuators.
- Authors
Maslen, Charlie; Gholamipour‐Shirazi, Azarmidokht; Butler, Matthew D.; Kropacek, Jindrich; Rehor, Ivan; Montenegro‐Johnson, Thomas
- Abstract
A crucial component in designing soft actuating structures with controllable shape changes is programming internal, mismatching stresses. In this work, a new paradigm for achieving anisotropic dynamics between isotropic end‐states—yielding a non‐reciprocal shrinking/swelling response over a full actuation cycle—in a microscale actuator made of a single material, purely through microscale design is demonstrated. Anisotropic dynamics is achieved by incorporating micro‐sized pores into certain segments of the structures; by arranging porous and non‐porous segments (specifically, struts) into a 2D hexagonally‐shaped microscopic poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide) hydrogel particle, the rate of isotropic shrinking/swelling in the structure is locally modulated, generating global anisotropic, non‐reciprocal, dynamics. A simple mathematical model is introduced that reveals the physics that underlies these dynamics. This design has the potential to be used as a foundational tool for inducing non‐reciprocal actuation cycles with a single material structure, and enables new possibilities in producing customized soft actuators and modular anisotropic metamaterials for a range of real‐world applications, such as artificial cilia.
- Subjects
MICROACTUATORS; NANOGELS; ACTUATORS; HYDROGELS; CILIA &; ciliary motion; ACRYLAMIDE; METAMATERIALS
- Publication
Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 2023, Vol 44, Issue 6, p1
- ISSN
1022-1336
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/marc.202200842