Left-Handed or Right-Handed? Determinants of the Chirality of Helically Deformable Soft Actuators

Helical curling and spiral structure are very common in nature, which inspire researchers to create various forms of helical configurations and actuators. The helically deformable actuators perform asymmetric deformations and show different chirality, which means that they can be left handed or right handed. However, the mechanism of helical curling and especially how the key factors influence the chirality of the actuator have not been systematically explained and well understood. In this study, we focus on the typical double-layer soft actuator composed of an active (expansion) layer and a passive (supporting) layer and investigate the effect of key factors (expansion coefficient, Young's modulus, relative thickness) on the chirality of the helical actuation or morphing by comprehensive finite element analyses. It was found that (i) the anisotropic expansion of the active layer or (ii) the anisotropic Young's modulus of the active or the passive layer is indispensable for helical curling. In Case (i), the actuator curls along the direction of greater expansion of the active layer. In Case (ii), the actuator curls along the direction of closer moduli match of the active and passive layers, and their relative thickness also affects the helical morphing of the actuator. In practice, the above two factors may cooperate or compete with each other, and the dominant one determines the chirality. This work gives the general rules for helical morphing forms and can provide guidance for the design and preparation of spiral actuators and soft robots in the future.