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Tuning the size and stiffness of inflatable particles
Nidhi Pashine1,2, Dong Wang1, Robert Baines1
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA. rebecca.kramer@yale.edu.
Soft Matter
|September 24, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed inflatable silicone particles that change stiffness when inflated. Particle geometry controls whether they become harder or softer, enabling tunable granular materials for soft robotics.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Soft Robotics
- Mechanical Engineering
Background:
- Granular materials with tunable properties are essential for advanced applications.
- Controlling particle mechanics, such as stiffness, is key to designing functional granular systems.
- Existing methods for tuning particle properties are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and fabricate size-varying cylindrical particles from silicone elastomers.
- To investigate how particle geometry influences stiffness changes during inflation.
- To explore the potential of these particles as building blocks for tunable granular materials.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of inflatable cylindrical silicone elastomer particles.
- Experimental compression testing to measure stiffness changes during inflation.
- Numerical simulations to analyze strain localization and its effect on stiffness.
Main Results:
- Particles exhibit tunable stiffness changes (stiffer or softer) upon inflation, controlled by geometric parameters like the fillet radius to wall thickness ratio (r/t).
- Numerical simulations confirm that softening occurs when large strain localization is present in the r/t → 0 regime.
- Demonstrated novel particle systems with adjustable size and stiffness.
Conclusions:
- Inflatable silicone particles offer a novel approach to creating granular materials with tunable mechanical properties.
- Particle geometry is a critical factor in determining stiffness response during inflation.
- These tunable particles have significant potential for applications in soft robotics and advanced material design.
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