Related papers: A novel dielectric elastomer actuator based on pol…
The absence of piezoelectricity in silicon makes direct electro-mechanical applications of this mainstream semiconductor impossible. Integrated electrical control of the silicon mechanics, however, would open up new perspectives for on-chip…
The results of experimental researches of electroconductivity of PVC films, plasticized by patented modifier, at fields below the breakdown level are described. A possibility of management of the repeated transitions between two states with…
Lack of fast and strong actuators to drive microsystems is well recognized. Electrochemical actuators are considered attractive for many applications but they have long response time (minutes) due to slow gas termination. Here an…
As interest in sustainable materials grows, paper is being reimagined as a multifunctional substrate with significant potential for future technologies for innovative, environmentally friendly solutions. This study investigates the swelling…
This paper describes the control, and evaluation of a new human-scaled biped robot with liquid cooled viscoelastic actuators (VLCA). Based on the lessons learned from previous work from our team on VLCA [1], we present a new system design…
Natural systems, such as tendons and spider silk, demonstrate how the combination of strength and stretchability can be effectively achieved by integrating stiff and flexible network structures. Inspired by these systems, we developed a…
In this paper a novel device aimed at controlling the mechanical vibrations of plates by means of a set of electrically-interconnected piezoelectric actuators is described. The actuators are embedded uniformly in the plate wherein they…
Achieving electrical conductance in amorphous non-doped polymers is a challenging task. Here, we show that vibrational strong coupling of the aromatic C-H(D) out-of-plane bending modes of polystyrene, deuterated polystyrene, and poly…
It is established that the mechanical properties of hydrogels control the fate of (stem) cells. However, despite its importance, a one-to-one correspondence between gels' stiffness and cell behaviour is still missing from literature. In…
Vesicles prepared in water from a series of diblock copolymers and termed "polymersomes" are physically characterized. With increasing molecular weight $\bar{M}_n$, the hydrophobic core thickness $d$ for the self-assembled bilayers of…
A new type of a capacitor with a very high volumetric capacitance is proposed. It is based upon the known phenomenon of a sharp increase of the dielectric constant of the metal-insulator composite in the vicinity of the percolation…
Biological systems achieve adaptive mechanical responses through reaction-diffusion processes that couple chemical wave propagation to structural transitions. Although synthetic hydrogels with enzymatic reactions offer a platform for…
The performances of energy harvesting generators based on dielectric elastomers are investigated. The configuration is of a thin dielectric film coated by stretchable electrodes at both sides. The film is first stretched, then charged and…
Two-dimensional van der Waals materials offer exceptional tunability in their electronic properties. In this paper, we explore how twisting and hydrostatic pressure can be leveraged to engineer the electronic and optical characteristics of…
The Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) micro-plasma actuator stands out as a highly promising tool for active fluid flow control. Researchers specializing in flow control have taken a keen interest in this actuator due to its economical…
This work presents a scalable method to produce robust all-solid electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs), compatible with roll-to-roll processes and structural laminate composite fabrication. It consists in sandwiching and pressing an…
Supercapacitors have been attracting significant attention as promising energy storage devices. However, the voltage window limitation associated with electrolyte solutions has hindered the improvement of their capacitance. To address this…
In this work, we perform experiments with spherical polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogel drops/spheres, spanning a broad range of shear moduli and impact velocities on hydrophilic (plasma-treated glass) and hydrophobic (silane-coated) substrates,…
This document contains two presentations which describe the working principles of a class of electrostatic multidimensional sensors and force actuators. The subject of the study is the search of the most effective methods for measuring the…
Medical electrophysiological sensors that can study the body and diagnose diseases depend on consistently low impedance electrode-skin interfaces. Clinical-standard wet electrodes use hydrogels and skin abrasion to improve the interface and…