Conductive fabric heaters for heat-activated soft actuators

Authors: M. Cartolano¹, B. Xia¹, A. Miriyev¹, H. Lipson¹

¹Columbia University

Publication: Actuators, 8(1), 9 (2019)

DOI: 10.3390/act8010009

Abstract

We examine electrically conductive fabrics as conductive heaters for heat-activated soft actuators. We have explored various fabric designs optimized for material properties, heat distribution and actuation/de-actuation characteristics of the soft actuators. We implemented this approach in the silicone/ethanol composite actuators, in which ethanol undergoes a thermally-induced phase change, leading to high actuation stress and strain. Various types of conductive fabrics were tested, and we developed a stretchable kirigami-based fabric design. We demonstrate a fabric heater that is capable of cyclic heating of the actuator to the required 80 °C. The fabric with the special kirigami design can withstand temperatures of up to 195 °C, can consume up to 30 W of power, and allows the actuator to reach >30% linear strain. This technology may be used in various systems involving thermally-induced actuation.

Paper

Citation

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@article{cartolano2019conductive,
  title={Conductive fabric heaters for heat-activated soft actuators},
  author={Cartolano, M. and Xia, B. and Miriyev, A. and Lipson, H.},
  journal={Actuators},
  volume={8},
  number={1},
  pages={9},
  year={2019},
  publisher={MDPI}
}