An electrorheological fluid and siloxane gel based electromechanical actuator: Working toward an artificial muscle

Electromechanical Response of Electrorheological Fluids and Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Networks

“…Although Figure 4 seems to indicate that electrode displacement increases almost monotonically with increasing ERF content of the composite gels, our previous work 6 showed that there was a particular ratio of silicone gel to ERF, 60/40 by volume in that system, at which maximum electrode displacement occurred. If there is a volume ratio of the V-XPDMS/ERF composite used in the present work at which a maximum electrode displacement could occur, it looks as if it would have to be 40/60 or lower.…”

“…In our previous work using commercially available silicone gels and ERF's, we showed that the displacement of the flexible electrodes surrounding the composite gels (1) increased with an increase in the applied dc electric field, (2) depended on the silicone/ERF ratio, and (3) decreased with increasing frequency of the applied electric field at constant applied (rms) voltage. In addition, we showed that the pure silicone gel and a sample of the silicone gel that had been swollen with silicone fluid had electrode displacements that were only one-sixth to one-fifth as large as that of the silicone gel/ERF composite under the same conditions.…”

Hydrogel-Based Sensor Networks: Compositions, Properties, and Applications—A Review

“…With the development of hydrogel preparation techniques, hydrogel-based sensors have been designed to possess more unique functionality and structures to match the increase of selectivity and sensitivity. For example, hydrogel sensors prepared via vapor-phase-induced generation possesses a well-ordered cylindrical-shaped microworm surface structure favorable to increase sensitivity, because of a very high surface area. − The sensitivity of hydrogels due to small changes in the environment and their ability to respond to different physical and chemical stimuli − through volume changes have made them attractive candidates for active sensing materials . However, poor mechanical strength and biodegradation often limit their uses in wearable electronics .…”

Insight into hydrogels

“…Such gels show sensitivity to little changes in the environment and give the response to physical stimuli (temperature, [160] light, pressure, [161] electric field, [162] ionic strength, [163] and magnetic field [164]), chemical stimuli (pH, [165] ions [166] or biological stimuli (glucose [167], enzyme, [168] and antigen [169]) through volume changes. In the presence of these stimuli, the hydrogels undergo phase transition by the sensing molecules and simultaneously translate this sense into a macroscopic event.…”