Martensitic organic crystals as soft actuators

Polypyrrole Soft Actuators

Pressurized honeycombs as soft-actuators: a theoretical study.

The seed capsule of Delosperma nakurense is a remarkable example of a natural hygromorph, which unfolds its protecting valves upon wetting to expose its seeds. The beautiful mechanism responsible for this motion is generated by a specialized organ based on an anisotropic cellular tissue filled with a highly swelling material. Inspired by this system, we study the mechanics of a diamond honeycom...

Soft Pneumatic Actuators for Rehabilitation

Pneumatic artificial muscles are pneumatic devices with practical and various applications as common actuators. They, as human muscles, work in agonistic-antagonistic way, giving a traction force only when supplied by compressed air. The state of the art of soft pneumatic actuators is here analyzed: different models of pneumatic muscles are considered and evolution lines are presented. Then, th...

Anisotropic elastic properties of flexible metal-organic frameworks: how soft are soft porous crystals?

We performed ab initio calculations of the elastic constants of five flexible metal-organic frameworks (MOFs): MIL-53(Al), MIL-53(Ga), MIL-47, and the square and lozenge structures of DMOF-1. Tensorial analysis of the elastic constants reveals a highly anisotropic elastic behavior, some deformation directions exhibiting very low Young's modulus and shear modulus. This anisotropy can reach a 400...

Liquid crystals: Printed actuators in a flap.

news & views possibilities for such devices in general. In particular, omnidirectional retroreflectors are likely to find use wherever back-reflecting mirrors are required whose alignment is hard to fix. Although perhaps less striking in its physical effect than a perfect lens or an invisibility cloak, the work of Ma et al. demonstrates that other devices hitherto confined to theory can be prac...