Critical bending and shape memory effect in magnetoactive elastomers

Magnetoactive elastomers with periodic and random microstructures

We investigate the behavior of magnetoactive elastomers (MAEs) with periodic and random distributions of circular and elliptical fibers. For the MAEs with periodic microstructures, we develop finite element models and determine the local fields as well as the effective properties of MAEs with rectangular and quasi-hexagonal unit cells. For the MAEs with random microstructures, we derive a close...

Shape memory effect exhibited by smectic-C liquid crystalline elastomers.

It was long expected and recently shown that main-chain liquid crystalline elastomers (MC-LCEs) may serve as high performance soft actuators due to a coupling of their intrinsic characteristics of high, yet labile, ordering and network strain. Here, we present the synthesis of new siloxane-based smectic MC-LCEs. These new materials exhibit a unique thermomechanical behavior known as the shape m...

Soft shape memory in main-chain liquid crystalline elastomers†‡

Plastic bending and shape-memory effect of double-wall carbon nanotubes

Hideki Mori,1 Shigenobu Ogata,1 Ju Li,2 Seiji Akita,3 and Yoshikazu Nakayama4,* 1Department of Mechanical Science and Bioengineering, Osaka University, Osaka 560-8531, Japan 2Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA 3Department of Physics and Electronics, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka 599-8531, Japan 4Department of Mechanical Enginee...

Effect of Bending on the Performance of Spool-Packaged Shape Memory Alloy Actuators

Shape memory alloy (SMA) actuation is becoming an increasingly viable technology for industrial applications as many of the technical issues that have limited its use are being addressed (speed of actuation, mechanical connections, performance degradation, quality control, etc.) while increasing production capacities drive costs to practical levels. Shape memory alloys are often selected becaus...