A light-fueled self-oscillating liquid crystal elastomer balloon with self-shading effect

Cheng, Quanbao; Zhou, Lin; Du, Changshen; Li, Kai

doi:10.1016/j.chaos.2021.111646

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In recent years, various self-oscillating systems based on different stimuli-responsive materials have been constructed, such as thermally responsive polymer materials [ 14 ], hydrogels [ 15 , 16 ], ion gels [ 17 ], dielectric elastomer [ 18 ], liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) [ 19 , 20 ], etc. Meanwhile, a variety of self-sustained motion modes have been proposed, such as rolling [ 4 , 7 , 21 ], bending [ 22 , 23 ], vibration [ 24 , 25 ], torsion [ 25 , 26 ], stretching and shrinking [ 27 , 28 ], spinning [ 29 ], swinging [ 30 ], buckling [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ], jumping [ 35 , 36 , 37 ], rotation [ 38 ], snap-through [ 39 ], eversion or inversion [ 40 ], expansion and contraction [ 26 , 41 , 42 ], swimming [ 43 , 44 ], and even group behavior coupled by two asymmetric oscillators [ 45 ]. In order to compensate for the energy loss of self-sustained oscillation caused by damping dissipation, different self-feedback mechanisms have been proposed, such as self-shadowing mechanism [ 41 ], coupling mechanism among chemical diffusion, large deformation and chemical reaction [ 46 ], and multi process coupling mechanism among droplet evaporation, motion, and plate buckling [ 47 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Sustained Euler Buckling of an Optically Responsive Rod with Different Boundary Constraints

Dai

2023

Polymers

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Self-sustained oscillations can directly absorb energy from the constant environment to maintain its periodic motion by self-regulating. As a classical mechanical instability phenomenon, the Euler compression rod can rapidly release elastic strain energy and undergo large displacement during buckling. In addition, its boundary configuration is usually easy to be modulated. In this paper, we develop a self-sustained Euler buckling system based on optically responsive liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) rod with different boundary constraints. The buckling of LCE rod results from the light-induced expansion and compressive force, and the self-buckling is maintained by the energy competition between the damping dissipation and the net work done by the effective elastic force. Based on the dynamic LCE model, the governing equations for dynamic Euler buckling of the LCE rod is formulated, and the approximate admissible trigonometric functions and Runge-Kutta method are used to solve the dynamic Euler buckling. Under different illumination parameters, there exists two motion modes of the Euler rod: the static mode and the self-buckling mode, including alternating and unilateral self-buckling modes. The triggering conditions, frequency, and amplitude of the self-sustained Euler buckling can be modulated by several system parameters and boundary constraints. Results indicate that strengthening the boundary constraint can increase the frequency and reduce the amplitude. It is anticipated that this system may open new avenues for energy harvesters, signal sensors, mechano-logistic devices, and autonomous robots.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Sustained Euler Buckling of an Optically Responsive Rod with Different Boundary Constraints

Dai

2023

Polymers

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A LCE beam carrying two masses at two ends is placed on a table under irradiation of light sources at fixed height. Unlike other self-sustaining systems [ 56 ], the range of contact surface between the LCE beam and the tabletop is constantly changing during the self-sustaining curling under steady light, which is a complex dynamic boundary problem. In addition, the LCE beam placed on the tabletop is not fixedly connected to the tabletop and can move freely, which is expected to realize movements such as jumping.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Oscillating Curling of a Liquid Crystal Elastomer Beam under Steady Light

Liu

Zhao

et al. 2023

Polymers

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Self-oscillation absorbs energy from a steady environment to maintain its own continuous motion, eliminating the need to carry a power supply and controller, which will make the system more lightweight and promising for applications in energy harvesting, soft robotics, and microdevices. In this paper, we present a self-oscillating curling liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) beam-mass system, which is placed on a table and can self-oscillate under steady light. Unlike other self-sustaining systems, the contact surface of the LCE beam with the tabletop exhibits a continuous change in size during self-sustaining curling, resulting in a dynamic boundary problem. Based on the dynamic LCE model, we establish a nonlinear dynamic model of the self-oscillating curling LCE beam considering the dynamic boundary conditions, and numerically calculate its dynamic behavior using the Runge-Kutta method. The existence of two motion patterns in the LCE beam-mass system under steady light are proven by numerical calculation, namely self-curling pattern and stationary pattern. When the energy input to the system exceeds the energy dissipated by air damping, the LCE beam undergoes self-oscillating curling. Furthermore, we investigate the effects of different dimensionless parameters on the critical conditions, the amplitude and the period of the self-curling of LCE beam. Results demonstrate that the light source height, curvature coefficient, light intensity, elastic modulus, damping factor, and gravitational acceleration can modulate the self-curling amplitude and period. The self-curling LCE beam system proposed in this study can be applied to autonomous robots, energy harvesters, and micro-instruments.

show abstract

“…Based on the self-oscillation systems that have been previously reported [29], the coupling and synchronization phenomena of two or more self-excited oscillation systems and their collective motion have attracted extensive attention [30][31][32][33][34]. Synchronization and collective motion are ubiquitous in nature, such as the overall movement of a school of fish or a flock of wild geese or a group of fireflies flickering together [35][36][37].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Sustained Collective Motion of Two Joint Liquid Crystal Elastomer Spring Oscillator Powered by Steady Illumination

Cheng

et al. 2022

Micromachines

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For complex micro-active machines or micro-robotics, it is crucial to clarify the coupling and collective motion of their multiple self-oscillators. In this article, we construct two joint liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) spring oscillators connected by a spring and theoretically investigate their collective motion based on a well-established dynamic LCE model. The numerical calculations show that the coupled system has three steady synchronization modes: in-phase mode, anti-phase mode, and non-phase-locked mode, and the in-phase mode is more easily achieved than the anti-phase mode and the non-phase-locked mode. Meanwhile, the self-excited oscillation mechanism is elucidated by the competition between network that is achieved by the driving force and the damping dissipation. Furthermore, the phase diagram of three steady synchronization modes under different coupling stiffness and different initial states is given. The effects of several key physical quantities on the amplitude and frequency of the three synchronization modes are studied in detail, and the equivalent systems of in-phase mode and anti-phase mode are proposed. The study of the coupled LCE spring oscillators will deepen people’s understanding of collective motion and has potential applications in the fields of micro-active machines and micro-robots with multiple coupled self-oscillators.

show abstract

A light-fueled self-oscillating liquid crystal elastomer balloon with self-shading effect

Cited by 13 publications

References 44 publications

Self-Sustained Euler Buckling of an Optically Responsive Rod with Different Boundary Constraints

Self-Sustained Euler Buckling of an Optically Responsive Rod with Different Boundary Constraints

Self-Oscillating Curling of a Liquid Crystal Elastomer Beam under Steady Light

Self-Sustained Collective Motion of Two Joint Liquid Crystal Elastomer Spring Oscillator Powered by Steady Illumination

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About