Rheological Characterization of Active Materials for Soft Matter Robots and Electronics
Abstract
The objective of this DURIP is to procure rheometer equipment to characterize and understand the flow behavior of materials utilized in soft robotics and flexible electronic devices. Soft materials such as elastomers, hydrogels, and particulate complex fluids exhi bit a wide variety of behaviors when subjected to flow, temperature, deformation, stress, and other factors, both external and inter nal. Thus, the task of optimizing material fabrication requires navigation of a vast parameter space. Presently, our best practical solution to this problem is to experimentally assess a material at a few independent discrete sets of parameter levels. Rheological analysis augmented by the capability to simultaneously change various stimuli (e.g., temperature, UV exposure, magnetic fields) wil l allow us to better understand the dynamics of soft active materials, and, therefore, influence the outcome and performance of the fabricated soft matter robots and devices.The Faboratory at Yale University currently has several ongoing research projects involv ing the use of liquid metal slurries, volumetrically expanding microcapsules, stiffness-changing metallic alloy microparticles, and polymer composites, collectively employed as sensors, actuators, and variable stiffness components in soft robots. By obtaining the proposed equipment, we will be able to gather data useful for optimization of their processing conditions and printing parameters, as well as performance prediction in applications such as additive manufacturing of flexible electronics and soft robots. Furthermo re, we expect that the proposed rheometer capabilities will provide a basis for active collaborative research.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 22, 2021
- Source ID
- N000142112932
Entities
People
- Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- Yale University