Investigating the Effect of Heat Distribution on the Performance of Silicone-Ethanol Soft Actuator

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

• samane sahebian
• mahboubeh Ghasemzadeh namaghi
• mohsen haddad sabzevar
• hojjat Zamyad

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

10.22067/jmme.2025.88021.1149

Abstract

In the present study, a composite soft robot was constructed using silicon as the matrix and ethanol as the phase change material. the activation mechanism of the silicon-ethanol robot is the absorption of heat by ethanol and the creation of vapor pressure in the silicon matrix and, as a result, strain; therefore, the effect of the uniformity of heat distribution in the composite on its response speed was investigated. The results of this study, using electrical excitation testing, weighing with a balance, imaging of the microstructure by FESEM, and processing of images related to the displacement of the samples by MATLAB software, showed that the heat distribution conditions in composite are very important in the speed and life of the composite. The sample with a coil diameter of 1 cm (equal to 34% of the volume of the sample placed inside the coil to the total volume of the sample) had stable performance during different cycles during operation. The difference in temperature between the center and surface of the sample was approximately 21C, and the average response time over three working days was 161s. For the sample with a coil diameter of 0.8cm, the difference in temperature between the surface and the center was 25C, and the average response time over three working days was 165 seconds. For the sample with a coil diameter of 0.5 cm, the difference in temperature between the surface and the center was 95C, and the average response time over three working days was 143s.

Keywords

• soft actuator
• silicone
• phase change material
• heat transfer

Main Subjects

• Advanced Materials

---

References

[1]           N. Kladovasilakis et al., “A Novel Soft Robotic Exoskeleton System for Hand Rehabilitation and Assistance Purposes,” Applied Sciences, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 553, 2023. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13010553

[2]           Y. Wang et al., “Dielectric elastomer actuators for artificial muscles: A comprehensive review of soft robot explorations,” Resources Chemicals and Materials, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 308–324, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.recm.2022.09.001

[3] D.-M. Rusu et al., “Soft Robotics: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis,” Micromachines, vol. 14, no. 2, p. 359, 2023. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14020359

[4]           E. W. Hawkes, C. Majidi, and M. T. Tolley, “Hard questions for soft robotics,” Science Robotics, vol. 6, no. 53, p. eabg6049, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.abg6049

[5] E. Mwasi, “Ethanol phase transition driven silicone actuator for soft robotic prosthetic arm,” Bachelor’s degree thesis, 2020.

[6]           R. Nasseri et al., “Programmable nanocomposites of cellulose nanocrystals and zwitterionic hydrogels for soft robotics,” Nature Communications, vol. 14, no. 1, p. 6108, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41874-7

[7]           M. Lalegani Dezaki et al., “Adaptive reversible composite-based shape memory alloy soft actuators,” Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, vol. 345, p. 113779, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2022.113779

[8]           X. Li, H. Duan, P. Lv, and X. Yi, “Soft actuators based on liquid–vapor phase change composites,” Soft Robotics, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 251–261, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2020.0018

[9]           C. Liu et al., “High water content electrically driven artificial muscles with large and stable deformation for soft robots,” Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 472, p. 144700, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2023.144700

[10]         S. Vougioukas, “Agricultural robotics,” Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 365–392, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-control-053018-023617

[11]         D. J. Kang et al., “Programmable soft robotics based on nano-textured thermo-responsive actuators,” Nanoscale, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 2065–2070, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8NR08215D

[12]        R. Chellattoan, A. Yudhanto, and G. Lubineau, “Low-voltage-driven large-amplitude soft actuators based on phase transition,” Soft Robotics, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 688–699, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2019.0150

[13]         H. Ma, X. Xiao, X. Zhang, and K. Liu, “Recent advances for phase-transition materials for actuators,” Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 128, no. 10, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0020596

[14]        G. Decroly, R. Raffoul, C. Deslypere, P. Leroy, L. Van Hove, A. Delchambre, and P. Lambert, “Optimization of phase-change material–elastomer composite and integration in kirigami-inspired voxel-based actuators,” Frontiers in Robotics and AI, vol. 8, p. 672934, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2021.672934

[15]         A. Miriyev, G. Caires, and H. Lipson, “Functional properties of silicone/ethanol soft-actuator composites,” Materials & Design, vol. 145, pp. 232–242, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2018.02.057

[16]         S. Krpovic, K. Dam‐Johansen, and A. L. Skov, “Importance of Mullins effect in commercial silicone elastomer formulations for soft robotics,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science, vol. 138, no. 19, p. 50380, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.50380 

[17] T. Kapłon and A. Milecki, “Research on the Use of Silicon-Ethanol Composite in Actuators,” Materials, vol. 15, no. 23, p. 8570, 2022.

[18] T. Kapłon and A. Milecki, “Linear Drive Based on Silicon/Ethanol Composite,” Polymers, vol. 13, no. 16, p. 2668, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13162668

[19] D. J. Kang et al., “Programmable soft robotics based on nano-textured thermo-responsive actuators,” Nanoscale, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 2065–2070, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8NR08215D               

[20] P. AziziHariri et al., “Development of a phase-change material-based soft actuator for soft robotic gripper functionality: In-depth analysis of material composition, ethanol microbubble distribution and lifting capabilities,” Materials Chemistry and Physics, vol. 311, p. 128435, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2023.128435

[21] A. H. Ebrahimi et al., “Design and characterization of electro-active soft actuator based on phase transition of microencapsulated silicon-ethanol composite,” Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 1499–1518, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/08927057231197160