AsianScientist (Nov. 26, 2012) – Scientists have developed a new artificial muscle that may someday be used in responsive textiles that automatically react to heat or sweat.
Researchers from Australia, China, South Korea, Canada, Brazil, and the U.S. were part of a team that developed the new hybrid yarn muscle featured in the journal Science this month.
The hybrid yarn muscles are based on carbon nanotubes which are hollow cylinders just one carbon atom thick like the layers of graphite. On their own, carbon nanotubes are about 10,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair but they can be 100 times stronger than steel.
Researchers combine the nanotubes with a wax material like household candles, the result being a single thread of yarn around 10 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, that can lift over 100,000 times its own weight and generate 85 times higher mechanical output that natural skeletal muscles.
“When heated, either electrically or with a flash of light, the wax in the yarn muscles expands, causing contraction of the nanotube yarn and generating a very large contraction,” said Professor Geoff Spinks from the ARC Center of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) at the University of Wollongong.
Unlike other artificial muscles, the hybrid yarn muscles are fully dry so actuation can be triggered from changes in environmental temperature or the presence of chemical agents, making them perfect for use as self-powered intelligent materials.
The researchers are using technology at the Australian National Fabrication Facility at the University of Wollongong to move to the next exciting step of weaving, sewing, braiding, and knitting the hybrid yarn muscles.
“The yarns could be used to create intelligent fabrics that can open and close the porosity of the fabric to allow heat in or keep it out, or release moisture,” said ACES researcher and fabrication expert Dr. Javad Foroughi.
Other applications for the yarns could include robots, catheters, micro-motors, tunable optical systems, and even toys.
The article can be found at: Lima MD et al. (2012) Electrically, Chemically, and Photonically Powered Torsional and Tensile Actuation of Hybrid Carbon Nanotube Yarn Muscles.
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Source: University of Wollongong.
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