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Nematoelastic crawlers.

A P Zakharov¹, L M Pismen¹

¹Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.

Physical Review. E

|March 18, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

A localized phase transition in nematic elastomers induces crawling motion in rod and stripe shapes. Gait and speed depend on material properties like flexural rigidity and substrate friction.

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Area of Science:

Soft Matter Physics
Materials Science
Nonlinear Dynamics

Background:

Nematic elastomers exhibit unique mechanical properties due to the coupling between orientational order and elasticity.
Local phase transitions can induce significant shape changes and actuation in soft materials.
Understanding the locomotion of soft robots is crucial for developing advanced autonomous systems.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the crawling motion of nematic elastomer structures induced by a propagating phase transition.
To analyze how different configurations (rods, stripes) and nematic order (uniform, splayed) affect locomotion.
To determine the influence of flexural rigidity and substrate friction on the gait and speed of these structures.

Main Methods:

Theoretical modeling of a propagating "beam" triggering a local phase transition.
Analysis of slender rod and thin stripe configurations with varying cross-sectional nematic order.
Numerical simulations to study the dependence of motion on material parameters.

Main Results:

A propagating phase transition successfully induces crawling motion in nematic elastomer structures.
Buckling instabilities can lead to the morphing of crawling configurations.
Locomotion characteristics, including gait and speed, are sensitive to flexural rigidity and substrate friction.

Conclusions:

Nematic elastomers offer a promising platform for developing self-propelled soft matter systems.
The control over locomotion parameters through material design and environmental interactions is demonstrated.
This study provides fundamental insights into the mechanics of self-generated motion in soft active materials.