Pilot: Wet Spinning Prototype for Peptidoglycan/Silk Water-responsive Actuators
Abstract
Approved for Public ReleaseThe overall objective is to wet spin new water-responsive (WR) composite fibers by coupling nanoscale pep,tidoglycan (PG) with silk fibroin proteins. The resulting composite fibers will show reversible, linear actuation with relatively lo,ng lifespan and high energy/power densities. The proposed work will lead to proof-of-concept demonstrations of using muscle-like, WR, actuators to power practical applications, allowing us to make transformative progress and move our invented WR materials from the,lab to real-world applications.We will use following technical approaches: (1) Develop scalable WR PG/silk composite fibers using a,customized wet-spinning system. We will explore the correlation between WR properties of wet-spun PG/silk fibers and spinning condit,ions. (2) Execute lab-scale experiments that show strategies of using PG/silk-based actuators to perform programmed tasks under ambi,ent conditions. These demonstrations will illustrate the feasibility of using WR actuators for practical applications and inform fur,ther development in terms of their system-level demonstrations.The proposed research could lead to a new class of artificial muscles,/actuators with high actuation energy and power densities, surpassing those of existing actuators. The proposed artificial muscle co,uld provide high actuation pressure by only injecting low pressure dry and humid air, and thus, provide new opportunities for underw,ater actuations, submerged vehicles, soft robotics, and exoskeletons. The research activities and outcomes could eventually enhance,warfighter resilience and performance.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 13, 2022
- Source ID
- N000142212608
Entities
People
- Xi Chen
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Research Foundation of The City University of New York
- United States Navy