Direct Writing Corrugated PVC Gel Artificial Muscle via Multi-Material Printing Processes

Polymers

Yanjie Wang¹  Zicai Zhu²  Yiding Zhong²  Bin Luo³  Hualing Chen³ 

[1] Changzhou Campus, School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Hohai University, Changzhou 213022, China;School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China;State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China;

关键词: direct writing;    PVC gel;    artificial muscle;    rheological behavior;    integrated printing;   

DOI  :  10.3390/polym13162734

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Electroactive PVC gel is a new artificial muscle material with good performance that can mimic the movement of biological muscle in an electric field. However, traditional manufacturing methods, such as casting, prevent the broad application of this promising material because they cannot achieve the integration of the PVC gel electrode and core layer, and at the same time, it is difficult to create complex and diverse structures. In this study, a multi-material, integrated direct writing method is proposed to fabricate corrugated PVC gel artificial muscle. Inks with suitable rheological properties were developed for printing four functional layers, including core layers, electrode layers, sacrificial layers, and insulating layers, with different characteristics. The curing conditions of the printed CNT/SMP inks under different applied conditions were also discussed. The structural parameters were optimized to improve the actuating performance of the PVC gel artificial muscle. The corrugated PVC gel with a span of 1.6 mm had the best actuating performance. Finally, we printed three layers of corrugated PVC gel artificial muscle with good actuating performance. The proposed method can help to solve the inherent shortcomings of traditional manufacturing methods of PVC gel actuators. The printed structures have potential applications in many fields, such as soft robotics and flexible electronic devices.

【 授权许可】

Unknown