Highly stretchable self-sensing actuator based on conductive photothermally-responsive hydrogel

Soft robots built with active soft materials have been increasingly attractive. Despite tremendous efforts in soft sensors and actuators, it remains extremely challenging to construct intelligent soft materials that simultaneously actuate and sense their own motions, resembling living organisms’ neuromuscular behaviors. This work presents a soft robotic strategy that couples actuation and strain-sensing into a single homogeneous material, composed of an interpenetrating double-network of a nanostructured thermo-responsive hydrogel poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and a light-absorbing, electrically conductive polymer polypyrrole (PPy). This design grants the material both photo/thermal-responsiveness and piezoresistive-responsiveness, enabling remotely-triggered actuation and local strain-sensing. This self-sensing actuating soft material demonstrated ultra-high stretchability (210%) and large volume shrinkage (70%) rapidly upon irradiation or heating (13%/°C, 6-time faster than conventional PNIPAAm). The significant deswelling of the hydrogel network induces densification of percolation in the PPy network, leading to a drastic conductivity change upon locomotion with a gauge factor of 1.0. The material demonstrated a variety of precise and remotely-driven photo-responsive locomotion such as signal-tracking, bending, weightlifting, object grasping and transporting, while simultaneously monitoring these motions itself via real-time resistance change. The multifunctional sensory actuatable materials may lead to the next-generation soft robots of higher levels of autonomy and complexity with self-diagnostic feedback control.     

Design and fabrication of an on-chip micro flow cytometer with integrated micro-lens

Microsystem Technologies - In this paper, the design and fabrication of an on-chip micro flow cytometer chip with integrated micro-lens with a size of...     

The effects of blast lag in abrasive jet machined micro-channel intersections

Abrasive jet micro-machining (AJM) uses compressed air carrying abrasive solid particles to micro-machine a variety of features into surfaces. If the feature sizes are less than the size of the abrasive jet footprint, then a patterned erosion-resistant mask is used to protect the substrate material, leaving exposed areas to define the features. Previous investigations have revealed a ‘blast lag’ phenomenon in which, for the same dose of abrasive particles, narrower mask openings lead to channels that are shallower than wider ones. Blast lag occurs when using AJM on brittle substrates because of the natural tendency to rapidly form a V-shaped cross-sectional profile which inhibits abrasive particle strikes on the narrow vertex at the feature centerline. In this paper, the blast lag phenomenon is studied when using AJM to machine a network of microfluidic channels. It is found that, in some cases, differences in blast lag occurring at channel intersections and within the channels themselves, can lead to channel networks of nonuniform depth. A previously developed surface evolution model is adapted to allow prediction of the onset of blast lag in the channels and intersections and thus explain these differences. Finally, methods to eliminate the differences are discussed.     

Non-singular antiplane fracture theory within nonlocal anisotropic elasticity

In the present paper, the distributed dislocation technique is applied for the analysis of anisotropic materials weakened by cracks. Eringen's theory of nonlocal elasticity of Helmholtz type is employed. The non-singular screw dislocation within anisotropic elasticity is distributed to model cracks of mode III. The corresponding dislocation density functions are evaluated using the proper crack-face boundary conditions. The nonlocal stress field within a plane weakened by cracks is determined. The crack opening displacement is also discussed within the framework of nonlocal elasticity. The stress singularity of the classical linear elasticity is removed by the introduction of the nonlocal theory of elasticity. The general anisotropic case and the special case of orthotropic material are studied. The effect of material orthotropy is presented for a crack which is not necessarily aligned with the principal orthotropy direction.     

Operating Range Scheduled Robust Dahlin Algorithm to Typical Industrial Process with Input Constraint

International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems - There is a class of typical nonlinear industrial process, which can be characterized by a first-order inertia plus pure delay model in an...     

Effect of dispersion and ion concentration on radio frequency heating

Radio frequency (RF) heating has been applied to process foods due to its unique advantages like volumetric heating. To investigate the interaction between dispersed liquid food and electromagnetic field, four dispersion structures, formed by polypropylene pellets dispersed in the samples, and six solutions with different ion concentrations were analyzed. The Results showed that 4 mm dispersion structure and 0.01 mol/L ion concentration involved in the highest heating rate and made the heating rate increase from 1.23 °C/min to 5.53 °C/min. For materials with different ion concentrations, the maximum heating rate corresponded to the dispersion structure of different sizes. But the dispersion structure would reduce the heating uniformity of the horizontal surface of materials. It suggested that dispersion structure and an proper ion concentration could change the material into a dispersed status, further improve RF heating rate, and ensure the efficiency of sterilization as well as retain the nutrition of foodstuffs.     

Enhanced transduction coefficient in piezoelectric PZT ceramics by mixing powders calcined at different temperatures

Large transduction coefficient ($d_{33}\times g_{33}$) is difficult to obtain in piezoelectric ceramics because these two parameters show opposite trends with compositional modifications. Herein, the Pb(Zr_0.53Ti_0.47)O₃ ceramic powders were calcinated under different temperatures (A:830 °C, B:860 °C, and C:890 °C), and then mixed together according to different weight ratios (1A:1B:1C, 1A:2B:1C, 1A:2B:3C and 3A:2B:1C) for ceramics preparation. Both d₃₃ and g₃₃ are improved successfully, and the transduction coefficient with the weight ratio of 1A:2B:3C reaches up to 17,500 × 10⁻¹⁵ m²/N, which is 60 % higher than that with the powders calcinated under 830 °C, and at least twice those of commercial PZT-4, PZT-5A and PZT-8 ceramics. The improved transduction coefficient is owing to the enhanced piezoelectric constant and spontaneous polarization resulted from the increased grain size, relative density and the fraction of tetragonal phase. These results indicate that this is a simple but effective way to tailor the transduction coefficient in piezoelectric ceramics.     

Stability and thermophysical properties of fly ash nanofluid for heat transfer applications

Improving the performance of heat transfer fluids is altogether significant. The best approach for improving the thermal conductivity is the addition of nanoparticles to the base fluid. In the present study, specific heat, dynamic viscosity, and thermal conductivity of water-based Indian coal fly ash stable nanofluid for 0.1% to 0.5% volume concentration in the temperature range of 30 to 60°C has been investigated. To evaluate an average particle diameter of 11.5 nm, the fly ash nanoparticles were characterized with scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Using zeta potential, the stability of nanofluid in the presence of surfactant Triton X-100 was tested. Thermal conductivity and viscosity of fly ash nanofluid increased, while specific heat decreased as volume concentration increased. The effect of temperature on the fly ash nanofluid was directly proportional to its thermal conductivity and specific heat and inversely proportional to viscosity.