Systematic evaluations of the properties of prosthetic facial materials began to appear in 1969 with a report by Cantor et a/. ’ They reported that plasticized poly(methyl methacrylate) was the best material with respect to resistance to tearing and degree of elongation. A year later, Walter2 reported the specific gravity, water sorption, thermal conductivity, strain in compression, and permane...

A rubbery material can undergo elastic deformation under stress and return to its original shape upon removal of the deforming force. This behavior of elastic deformation and recovery is known as rubbery elasticity or viscoelasticity, and gives rise to rubbery materials for various applications, ranging from household (rubber bands and balloons, gloves, pencil erasers, shoe soles, carpets) to i...

Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) are a special class of thermoplastic elastomers, which are produced by simultaneously mixing and crosslinking a rubber with a thermoplastic polymer at an elevated temperature. Peroxide-cured TPVs based on blends of silicone rubber and thermoplastic Engage of two different types, mainly ethylene-octene and ethylenebutene copolymers at different blend ratios have...

Biomimetic fingertips for robots and prostheses need to combine compliant grip and tactile sensing with robustness in diverse environments. We have evaluated materials for use in a compliant, fluid-filled artificial fingertip that incorporates multimodal sensing of contact, texture and thermal properties. A variety of silicone elastomers were tested for hardness, wear-rate, and stress–strain re...

Conductive silicone rubber has great advantages for tactile sensing applications. The electrical behavior of the elastomeric material is rate-dependent and exhibit hysteresis upon cyclic loading. Several constitutive models were developed for mechanical simulation of this material upon loading and unloading. One of the successful approaches to model the time-dependent behavior of elastomers is ...

The earliest silicone breast implants were smooth-surface, silicone rubber devices filled with either silicone gel or saline. Because of persistent problems with capsular contracture, polyurethane-covered silicone implants were developed as an alternative. Particularly in the short run, these alternatives proved highly successful at reducing the incidence of capsular contracture. By 1990, polyu...