Journal
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 44, Issue 6, Pages -Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/marc.202200842
Keywords
asymmetric; hydrogels; in-plane anisotropy; micro-actuators; non-reciprocity; soft robots
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A new paradigm for achieving anisotropic dynamics in a microscale actuator made of a single material is demonstrated. By incorporating micro-sized pores into certain segments of the structures, the rate of shrinking/swelling in the structure is locally modulated, generating global anisotropic, non-reciprocal dynamics. This design has the potential to be used as a foundational tool for inducing non-reciprocal actuation cycles with a single material structure, enabling new possibilities in producing customized soft actuators and modular anisotropic metamaterials for a range of real-world applications.
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.
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