Assisted damage closure and healing in soft robots by shape memory alloy wires.

ABSTRACT: Self-healing soft robots show enormous potential to recover functional performance after healing the damages. However, healing in these systems is limited by the recontact of the fracture surfaces. This paper presents for the first time a shape memory alloy (SMA) wire-reinforced soft bending actuator made out of a castor oil-based self-healing polymer, with the incorporated ability to recover from large incisions via shape memory assisted healing. The integrated SMA wires serve three major purposes; (i) Large incisions are closed by contraction of the current-activated SMA wires that are integrated into the chamber. These pull the fracture surfaces into contact, enabling the healing. (ii) The heat generated during the activation of the SMA wires is synergistically exploited for acceleratin

SUBMITTER: Kashef Tabrizian S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10232441 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature