Variable stiffness and fast-response soft structures based on electrorheological fluids
基于电流变效应的快速响应可变刚度结构
Huilan Jing#, Letian Hua#, Fei Long, Bojin Lv, Bing Wang, Hewen Zhang, Xunye Fan, Hongru Zheng, Chengyi Chu, Gaojie Xu, Jianjun Guo*, Aihua Sun*, Yuchuan Cheng*
景慧澜#，华乐天#，龙菲，吕博锦，王兵，张鹤文，樊勋业，郑洪茹，储成义，许高杰，郭建军*，孙爱华*，程昱川*
全文下载：Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 11(35), 11842-11850 (Hot Paper)
Abstract
软体机器人具有很高的灵活性和对复杂环境的适应性，备受学术界和工业界的关注。然而受材料所限，其不适合高负载任务，实现可控的材料刚度变化仍然是一个挑战。 我们设计了一种基于电流变液的变刚度软结构，具有连续变刚度和快速响应的优点。 当电场强度为 4.5 kV mm−1（位移 1 mm）时，该结构的刚度高达 1065 mN mm−1。 当改变电场强度（0至4.5 kV mm−1）时，刚度变化率超过1500%。 荷载循环实验显示，该结构对荷载变化的响应时间小于65 ms，且结构可重复变化。 此外，我们还演示了该结构的刚度调节、形状记忆和运动锁定等功能。 这项工作在软机器人和人造肌肉领域具有潜在的应用。
Soft robots have drawn a lot of attention due to their soft materials that make them highly flexible and adaptable to complex environments. However, these also make soft robots not suited to high-load tasks, and achieving controllable material stiffness variation is still a challenge. Herein, we designed a soft structure with variable stiffness based on electrorheological fluids, which presented the advantages of continuously variable stiffness and fast response. The structure exhibited a stiffness of up to 1065 mN mm−1 when the electric field strength was 4.5 kV mm−1 (displacement of 1 mm). When varying the electric field strength (0 to 4.5 kV mm−1), the rate of stiffness variation was over 1500%. According to the load cycle experiments, it was shown that the structure's response time to a change in load was less than 65 ms, and that the structure changes could be made repeatedly. In addition, we demonstrated the functions of stiffness adjustment, shape memory, and motion locking of the structure. This work has potential applications in the fields of soft robotics and artificial muscles.
