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Interactive Fiber Rubber Composites—Volume II
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Interactive Fiber Rubber Composites—Volume II

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2024) | Viewed by 5095

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Chokri Cherif

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Textile Machinery and High Performance Material Technology, Technische Universitat Dresden, Dresden, Germany
Interests: fibers and polymers; smart textiles and structures; biotextiles; composite materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Thomas Gereke

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Institute of Textile Machinery and High Performance Material Technology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
Interests: fibers; fabrics; smart textiles and structures; composite materials; simulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to their high intrinsic deformation capacity, the application of interactive fiber rubber composites (I-FRCs) has become a promising approach to generate controllably deformable components with specifically adjustable properties. The goal is to generate an innovative class of intelligent materials, i.e., fiber-reinforced composite materials that include structurally integrated actuator and sensor networks. This aims at the simulation-based development of smart material combinations to create so-called self-sufficient fiber rubber composites. For this purpose, actuators (e.g., shape memory alloys, dielectrical elastomer actuators) and sensors (e.g., metal-coated yarns, hybrid yarns) are directly—rather than subsequently—integrated into these structures during fabric manufacturing processes, such as weaving or multi-axial knitting. Hence, these systems are more robust, and even complex deformation patterns can be specifically adjusted, whereas the corresponding changes are implemented in a reversible and contactless manner.

FRCs can respond to changes in their environment (e.g., temperature and magnetic fields) and ensure precise as well as long-term stable functionalities by means of regulation and control circuits that are based on and linked to sensorial condition monitoring. However, these functionalities require innovative component designs and cross-scale modeling, simulation, and integration into system conceptions, experimental research, and material developments. These I-FRCs are a new class of materials offering new properties. For example, the development of I-FRCs allows for the reversible and contactless adjustment of geometric degrees of deformation for mechanical components; thus, various environmental requirements can be met in a quick and precise manner. This advantage makes them suitable for numerous fields of application, such as in mechanical engineering, vehicle construction, robotics, architecture, orthotics, and prosthetics. Potential applications include their use in systems for precise gripping and transportation processes, such as hand prostheses, automated lids, seals, shapeable membranes, and adaptive flaps for rotor blades of wind turbines, as well as trim tabs for ground- and watercraft to effectively reduce flow separation.

Given the significance of the material class offered by I-FRCs, this Special Issue aims to publish peer-reviewed and open access papers advancing the body of knowledge in this important area of material research, including applications. The topics sought include but are not limited to:

  • Material development;
  • Cross-scale modeling and simulation;
  • Open- and closed-loop control systems;
  • System development and in situ characterization.

Prof. Dr. Chokri Cherif
Dr. Thomas Gereke
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • textile actuators
  • elastomers
  • hyperelastic modeling
  • actuator network
  • soft robotics
  • smart materials

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3035 KiB  
Article
Fiber-Reinforced Equibiaxial Dielectric Elastomer Actuator for Out-of-Plane Displacement
by Simon Holzer, Stefania Konstantinidi, Markus Koenigsdorff, Thomas Martinez, Yoan Civet, Gerald Gerlach and Yves Perriard
Materials 2024, 17(15), 3672; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17153672 - 25 Jul 2024
Viewed by 822
Abstract
Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have gained significant attention due to their potential in soft robotics and adaptive structures. However, their performance is often limited by their in-plane strain distribution and limited mechanical stability. We introduce a novel design utilizing fiber reinforcement to address [...] Read more.
Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have gained significant attention due to their potential in soft robotics and adaptive structures. However, their performance is often limited by their in-plane strain distribution and limited mechanical stability. We introduce a novel design utilizing fiber reinforcement to address these challenges. The fiber reinforcement provides enhanced mechanical integrity and improved strain distribution, enabling efficient energy conversion and out-of-plane displacement. We discuss an analytical model and the fabrication process, including material selection, to realize fiber-reinforced DEAs. Numerical simulations and experimental results demonstrate the performance of the fiber-reinforced equibiaxial DEAs and characterize their displacement and force capabilities. Actuators with four and eight fibers are fabricated with 100 μm and 200 μm dielectric thicknesses. A maximal out-of-plane displacement of 500 μm is reached, with a force of 0.18 N, showing promise for the development of haptic devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactive Fiber Rubber Composites—Volume II)
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19 pages, 3982 KiB  
Article
Investigation and Validation of a Shape Memory Alloy Material Model Using Interactive Fibre Rubber Composites
by Achyuth Ram Annadata, Aline Iobana Acevedo-Velazquez, Lucas A. Woodworth, Thomas Gereke, Michael Kaliske, Klaus Röbenack and Chokri Cherif
Materials 2024, 17(5), 1163; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17051163 - 1 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1254
Abstract
The growing demand for intelligent systems with improved human-machine interactions has created an opportunity to develop adaptive bending structures. Interactive fibre rubber composites (IFRCs) are created using smart materials as actuators to obtain any desired application using fibre-reinforced elastomer. Shape memory alloys (SMAs) [...] Read more.
The growing demand for intelligent systems with improved human-machine interactions has created an opportunity to develop adaptive bending structures. Interactive fibre rubber composites (IFRCs) are created using smart materials as actuators to obtain any desired application using fibre-reinforced elastomer. Shape memory alloys (SMAs) play a prominent role in the smart material family and are being used for various applications. Their diverse applications are intended for commercial and research purposes, and the need to model and analyse these application-based structures to achieve their maximum potential is of utmost importance. Many material models have been developed to characterise the behaviour of SMAs. However, there are very few commercially developed finite element models that can predict their behaviour. One such model is the Souza and Auricchio (SA) SMA material model incorporated in ANSYS, with the ability to solve for both shape memory effect (SME) and superelasticity (SE) but with a limitation of considering pre-stretch for irregularly shaped geometries. In order to address this gap, Woodworth and Kaliske (WK) developed a phenomenological constitutive SMA material model, offering the flexibility to apply pre-stretches for SMA wires with irregular profiles. This study investigates the WK SMA material model, utilizing deformations observed in IFRC structures as a reference and validating them against simulated models using the SA SMA material model. This validation process is crucial in ensuring the reliability and accuracy of the WK model, thus enhancing confidence in its application for predictive analysis in SMA-based systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactive Fiber Rubber Composites—Volume II)
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12 pages, 3030 KiB  
Article
Manufacture and Deformation Angle Control of a Two-Direction Soft Actuator Integrated with SMAs
by Aline Iobana Acevedo-Velazquez, Zhenbi Wang, Anja Winkler, Niels Modler and Klaus Röbenack
Materials 2024, 17(3), 758; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17030758 - 5 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1097
Abstract
In this contribution, the development of a 3D-printed soft actuator integrated with shape memory alloys (SMA) wires capable of bending in two directions is presented. This work discusses the design, manufacturing, modeling, simulation, and feedback control of the actuator. The SMA wires are [...] Read more.
In this contribution, the development of a 3D-printed soft actuator integrated with shape memory alloys (SMA) wires capable of bending in two directions is presented. This work discusses the design, manufacturing, modeling, simulation, and feedback control of the actuator. The SMA wires are encased in Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tubes and then integrated into the 3D-printed matrix made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). To measure and control the deformation angle of the soft actuator, a computer vision system was implemented. Based on the experimental results, a mathematical model was developed using the system identification method and simulated to describe the dynamics of the actuator, contributing to the design of a controller. However, achieving precise control of the deformation angle in systems actuated by SMA wires is challenging due to their inherent nonlinearities and hysteretic behavior. A proportional-integral (PI) controller was designed to address this challenge, and its effectiveness was validated through real experiments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactive Fiber Rubber Composites—Volume II)
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15 pages, 5362 KiB  
Article
Understanding the Impact of Active-to-Passive Area Ratio on Deformation in One-Dimensional Dielectric Elastomer Actuators with Uniaxial Strain State
by Hans Liebscher, Markus Koenigsdorff, Anett Endesfelder, Johannes Mersch, Martina Zimmermann and Gerald Gerlach
Materials 2023, 16(21), 6897; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16216897 - 27 Oct 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1173
Abstract
There is increasing interest in the use of novel elastomers with inherent or modified advanced dielectric and mechanical properties, as components of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA). This requires corresponding techniques to assess their electro-mechanical performance. A common way to test dielectric materials is [...] Read more.
There is increasing interest in the use of novel elastomers with inherent or modified advanced dielectric and mechanical properties, as components of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA). This requires corresponding techniques to assess their electro-mechanical performance. A common way to test dielectric materials is the fabrication of actuators with pre-stretch fixed by a stiff frame. This results in the problem that the electrode size has an influence on the achievable actuator displacement and strain, which is detrimental to the comparability of experiments. This paper presents an in-depth study of the active-to-passive ratio with the aim of investigating the influence of the coverage ratio on uniaxial actuator displacement and strain. To model the effect, a simple lumped-parameter model is proposed. The model shows that the coverage ratio for maximal displacement is 50%. To validate the model results, experiments are carried out. For this, a rectangular, fiber-reinforced DEA is used to assess the relation of the coverage ratio and deformation. Due to the stiffness of the fibers, highly anisotropic mechanical properties are achieved, leading to the uniaxial strain behavior of the actuator, which allows the validation of the one-dimensional model. To consider the influence of the simplifications in the lumped-parameter model, the results are compared to a hyperelastic model. In summary, it is shown that the ratio of the active-to-passive area has a significant influence on the actuator deformation. Both the model and experiments confirm that an active-to-passive ratio of 50% is particularly advantageous in most cases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactive Fiber Rubber Composites—Volume II)
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