Development of Liquid Diene Rubber Based Highly Deformable Interactive Fiber-Elastomer Composites.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Robotics Engineering

Background:

• Intelligent structures are crucial for advanced applications like soft robotics and artificial limbs.
• Developing adaptive composite materials with integrated functionalities is a key research area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a novel adaptive fiber-elastomer composite structure.
• To integrate functional fabric with shape memory effect into a soft elastomeric matrix.

Main Methods:

• Functional fabric was combined with liquid polybutadiene rubber using low-temperature vulcanization.
• A specific rubber formulation was developed for crosslinking at 75 °C, below the shape memory alloy's phase transformation temperature.
• The resulting adaptive structures were activated via Joule heating.

Main Results:

• Successfully developed soft intelligent structures incorporating functional fabric.
• Demonstrated adaptive deformation through Joule heating activation.
• Achieved a maximum bending distance of 120 mm at 8 V without load, with reduced bending under increasing loads (5-30 g).

Conclusions:

• The study presents a viable method for creating adaptive fiber-elastomer composites.
• The developed material shows promise for applications requiring controlled deformation and smart actuation.
• The low-temperature crosslinking protocol enables the fabrication of complex intelligent structures.