Liquid Crystal Elastomer-Liquid Metal Composite: Ultrafast, Untethered, and Programmable Actuation by Induction Heating
Victor Maurin, Yilong Chang, Qiji Ze, Sophie Leanza, Ruike Renee Zhao · arXiv · 2023
An LCE–liquid metal composite can be actuated in milliseconds using induction heating, with spatial and sequential programmability achieved by controlling the magnetic field and liquid-metal thickness.
Plain English summary
Why this matters
Key findings
- LCE–liquid metal composite enables ultrafast actuation in milli-seconds under alternating magnetic fields.
- Eddy-current heating provides untethered actuation driven by induction heating.
- Spatially selective actuation is achieved by moving the magnetic field.
- Sequential heating is enabled by programming liquid-metal thickness distribution.
- Demonstrated multimodal deformation and locomotion/manipulation behaviors (pop-up deformation, omnidirectional motion, water object manipulation, crawling).
Limitations
The abstract does not specify quantitative performance metrics (e.g., force, strain magnitude, efficiency), durability/cycling limits, operating temperature range, or comparisons to other actuation methods.
Publication
- Publisher
- arXiv
- Publication date
- February 27, 2023
- Research type
- Preprint
- arXiv
- 2302.13583
- Access
- open
Tags
More on Programmable Materials
See all →Shape optimization of 4D-printed multi-material morphing structures for enhanced structural stability
This study presents a shape optimization framework for enhancing the stiffness of 4D-printed multi-material morphing structures.
A Versatile‐Designable Framework for Active and Programmable Shape‐Morphing Soft Matter Systems: From Inverse Design to Closed‐Loop Control
This research presents a framework for active and programmable shape-morphing soft matter systems, enhancing soft robotics capabilities.
Architecting three-dimensional reconfigurable matter from pop-up kirigami with programmable multistability
This research presents a new platform for creating programmable multistable pop-up kirigami systems that can transform into complex 3D shapes.
Dimple-Encoded Reprogrammable Origami
This research presents a dimple-encoded origami platform that allows for reprogrammable shape-morphing and adaptive mechanical systems.
Geometric memory in incomplete phase transitions across dimensions
A nucleation-and-growth model with incomplete reversion produces a geometric memory in plate-size distributions, with stronger memory in 2D than in 3D or lamellar geometries.
Logarithmic-Time Geodesically Convex Decomposition in Programmable Matter
It presents an O(log n)-round algorithm to decompose arbitrary amoebot programmable-matter structures into O(|H|) geodesically convex regions using reconfigurable circuits.
Recently published
Latest research →Bio-inspired re-entrant honeycomb metamaterial with programmable dual-plateau mechanical response
A bio-inspired re-entrant honeycomb mechanical metamaterial is described as having a programmable dual-plateau mechanical response.
Modelling the thermo-mechanical responses and shape recovery performance of particle-reinforced shape memory polymer composites in cold and hot programming
A study focused on modeling thermo-mechanical behavior and shape recovery of particle-reinforced shape-memory polymer composites when programmed in cold versus hot conditions.
Functional Shape Recovery Response of Heat-Treated NiTiCu SHAPE Memory Alloy Wire
Heat treatment of NiTiCu shape memory alloy wires enhances their shape recovery response, achieving a high recovery ratio.
Dorsiventrally Bicolored Leaf‐Inspired Metamaterial Absorbers for Tailorable Electromagnetic Absorption
This research proposes a bioinspired metamaterial that achieves high-performance, tailorable electromagnetic absorption across a broad frequency range.