Related papers: Performance of soft dielectric laminated composite…
We investigate the effective elastic properties of periodic dilute two-phase composites consisting of an homogeneous isotropic matrix and a periodic array of rigid inclusions. We assume the rigid inclusion in a unit cell is a simply…
Active control of the shape of soft robots is challenging. Despite having an infinite number of passive degrees of freedom (DOFs), soft robots typically only have a few actively controllable DOFs, limited by the number of degrees of…
Soft modular robots enable more flexibility and safer interaction with the changing environment than traditional robots. However, it has remained challenging to create deformable connectors that can be integrated into soft machines. In this…
We analyse the behaviour of thin composite plates whose material properties vary periodically in-plane and possess a high degree of contrast between the individual components. Starting from the equations of three-dimensional linear…
Magnetic remote actuation of soft materials is attractive for applications such as transforming materials and medical robots. However, due to manufacturing limitations, microscale magnetoactive devices are scarce -- light-based additive…
Soft elastomers that can exhibit extremely large deformations under the action of an electric field are essential for applications such as soft robotics, stretchable and flexible electronics, energy harvesting among others. The critical…
The paper establishes exact lower bound on the effective elastic energy of two-dimensional, three-material composite subjected to the homogeneous, anisotropic stress. It is assumed that the materials are mixed with given volume fractions…
This letter proposes a method to integrate auxiliary actuators that enhance the task space capabilities of commercial underactuated systems, leaving the internal certified low level controller untouched. The additional actuators are…
The control of the dielectric and conductive properties of device-level systems is important for increasing the efficiency of energy- and information-related technologies. In some cases, such as neuromorphic computing, it is desirable to…
A self-consistent model is developed to investigate attachment / detachment kinetics of two soft, deformable microspheres with irregular surface and coated with flexible binding ligands. The model highlights how the microscale binding…
The use of robots in disaster sites has rapidly expanded, with soft robots attracting particular interest due to their flexibility and adaptability. They can navigate through narrow spaces and debris, facilitating efficient and safe…
In this paper, we present a 2D numerical model developed to simulate the dynamics of soft, deformable particles. To accommodate significant particle deformations, the particle surface is represented as a narrow shell composed of mass points…
Mechanical metamaterials are periodic lattice structures with complex unit cell architectures that can achieve extraordinary mechanical properties beyond the capability of bulk materials. A new class of metamaterials is proposed, whose…
We have designed and tested experimentally a morphing structure consisting of a neutrally stable thin cylindrical shell driven by a multiparameter piezoelectric actuation. The shell is obtained by plastically deforming an initially flat…
Atomically thin semiconductors exhibit tunable exciton resonances that can be harnessed for dynamic manipulation of visible light in ultra-compact metadevices. However, the rapid nonradiative decay and dephasing of excitons at room…
In this research, multi-physics topology optimization is employed to achieve the detailed design of a lightweight porous linear actuation mechanism that harnesses energy through laser activation. A multiscale topology optimization…
The interaction of a thin viscous film with an elastic sheet results in coupling of pressure and deformation, which can be utilized as an actuation mechanism for surface deformations in a wide range of applications, including microfluidics,…
The multi-scale nature of architectured materials raises the need for advanced experimental methods suitable for the identification of their effective properties, especially when their size is finite and they undergo extreme deformations.…
We simulate model systems of charged spherical particles in their counterion solution and measure the thermodynamic pressure and the pair distribution function from which we derive effective potentials of mean force. For a system with only…
Liquid crystal elastomers contract along their director on heating and recover on cooling, offering great potential as actuators and artificial muscles. If a flat sheet is programmed with a spatially varying director pattern, it will…