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Efficient, Absorption-Powered Artificial Muscles Based on Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Yarns
Márcio Dias Lima1, Mohammad W Hussain1, Geoffrey M Spinks2
1The Alan G MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 West Campbell Road BE26, Richardson, TX, 75080, USA.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|March 11, 2015
Abstract:
A new type of absorption-powered artificial muscle provides high performance without needing a temperature change. These muscles, comprising coiled carbon nanotube fibers infiltrated with silicone rubber, can contract up to 50% to generate up to 1.2 kJ kg(-1) . The drive mechanism for actuation is the rubber swelling during exposure to a nonpolar solvent. Theoretical energy efficiency conversion can be as high as 16%.
