A light-powered self-rotating liquid crystal elastomer drill

© 2024 The Authors..

Self-oscillating systems can directly convert ambient energy to mechanical work, and new type self-oscillating systems are worth designing for applications in energy harvesters, engines, and actuators. Taking inspiration from the hand drill, we have developed a novel self-rotating drill system, which is consist of a turnplate and a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) fiber under steady illumination. To investigate the self-rotating behaviors of the LCE drill, we have proposed a nonlinear theoretical model of the LCE drill under steady illumination based on the well-established dynamic LCE model. Numerical calculation reveals that the LCE drill can undergo a supercritical Hopf bifurcation between the static regime and the self-rotation regime. The self-rotation of drill originates from the contraction of winding portion of LCE fiber in illumination at winding state, and its continuous periodic motion is sustained by the interrelation between light energy and damping dissipation. The Hopf bifurcation conditions are also investigated in detail, as well as the vital system parameters affecting its frequency and amplitude. In contrast to the abundant existing self-oscillating systems, this self-rotating drill stands out due to its simple and lightweight structure, customizable dimensions, and high speed, and thus facilitates the design of compact and integrated systems, enhancing their applicability in microdevices and systems. This bears great significance in fields like micro-robotics, micro-sensors, and medical instruments, enabling the realization of smaller and higher-performance devices.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:10

Enthalten in:

Heliyon - 10(2024), 6 vom: 30. März, Seite e27748

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Yu, Yong [VerfasserIn]
Hu, Haoyu [VerfasserIn]
Wu, Haiyang [VerfasserIn]
Dai, Yuntong [VerfasserIn]
Li, Kai [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Drill
Fiber
Journal Article
Light-powered
Liquid crystal elastomer
Self-rotation

Anmerkungen:

Date Revised 28.03.2024

published: Electronic-eCollection

Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27748

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM370225708