Electrically-Powered Soft Matter Composites with Tunable Elastic Rigidity
Carmel Majidi (Carnegie Mellon University), Wanliang Shan (Carnegie Mellon University), Tong Lu (Carnegie Mellon University)
Soft Materials and Structures
Mon 4:20 - 5:40
Barus-Holley 158
We use phase-changing matter to reversibly tune the elastic rigidity of an elastomer composite. The elastomer is embedded with a soft-matter Joule heater and a thin-sheet of material that softens and undergoes a phase-transition when heated above 60oC. Using a tensile testing machine, we demonstrate that the elastic modulus of the composite reversibly changes by four orders of magnitude. This represents the first soft-matter composite capable of such a dramatic rigidity change through electrical stimulation. In addition to presenting the design and experimental results, we also present a thermal analysis that predicts the internal temperature distribution and phase-transition as a function of electrical power input. These theoretical predictions are consistent with our experimental measurements and are used to establish scaling laws for miniaturization and low-power functionality.