Bioinspired Fouling‐Release Smart Skin Powered by Twisted Spiral Artificial Muscles (TSAMs)

Abstract

The buildup of marine organisms on submerged surfaces, known as biofouling, poses a major threat to the maritime industry. Biofouling on seafaring vessels increases hydrodynamic drag, fuel consumption, and leads to the spread of invasive species. Despite considerable research, a cost‐effective and environmentally friendly strategy for preventing biofouling remains elusive. Silicone‐based fouling release coatings (FRCs) that rely on hydrodynamic shear forces to remove attached biofilms have recently been proposed as a non‐toxic solution for biofouling. However, FRCs are susceptible to fouling in still water or near‐still water conditions. In this study, a smart skin bioinspired by the shape‐changing behavior of octopi for removing biofilms in near‐still water conditions is proposed. Active deformation of the smart skin powered by twisted spiral artificial muscles (TSAMs) leads to the detachment of biofilms. The efficacy of the smart skin is evaluated in both a laboratory setting and a field environment. A maximum of 87% of a laboratory grown and 79% of a heterogeneous field biofilm is detached by the active motion of the skin surface. The results indicate that the actively deformed smart skins bioinspired by octopi are a promising candidate for removing marine biofilms in still or near‐still water environments.

Deployable vortex generators for low Reynolds numbers applications powered by cephalopods inspired artificial muscles

“…In previous works, we proposed theoretical models 32 , 38 and different manufacturing methods 32 , 36 , 39 for TSAMs, and we also demonstrated that TSAMs are promising candidates for the development of fouling release devices. 40 In this work, we demonstrate how TSAMs can be used to actively deploy VGs, by emulating cephalopods’ papillae in terms of flow controls. Thanks to their ease of manufacturing, low specific cost, low actuation voltage requirements, large output displacement, high specific power, non-hysteretic behavior, and their compact, lightweight, and single-component nature, 41 TSAMs can effectively address the limitations of existing active flow control and deployable VGs devices in terms of power requirements, portability, ease of integration, and controls.…”

Single layered soft skin actuated with twisted and mandrel coiled actuators for soft robotics

“…Previously, Almubarak et al 27 quantified the effect of skin thickness and muscle placement in 2‐ply TCP muscles actuated silicone skins but the dynamic response of actuation is too slow. Fei et al 36 fabricated smart skin prototypes actuated by twisted spiral artificial muscles (TSAMs) 37 to propose a self‐morphing system. Lamuta et al 38 showed soft morphing skins creating digital texture patterns.…”