This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Healable soft robotic systems have been developed by constructing flexible membranes out of Diels?Alder (DA) polymer networks. In these components, relatively large amounts of damage, on the centimeter scale, can be healed, provided that the temperature is increased to 80?90 ?C. This article presents a new DA polymer network that can heal at room temperature through a smart design of the network that increases the molecular mobility in the material. This new material is used to develop the first healable soft robotic prototype that can autonomously recover from severe, realistic damage. The soft pneumatic hand can recover from various types of injuries, including being cut completely in half, without the need for a temperature increase. After healing, the performance of the soft robotic prototype is recovered.
Seppe Terryn; Joost Brancart; Ellen Roels; Guy Van Assche; Bram Vanderborght. Room Temperature Self-Healing in Soft Pneumatic Robotics: Autonomous Self-Healing in a Diels-Alder Polymer Network. IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine 2020, 27, 44 -55.
AMA StyleSeppe Terryn, Joost Brancart, Ellen Roels, Guy Van Assche, Bram Vanderborght. Room Temperature Self-Healing in Soft Pneumatic Robotics: Autonomous Self-Healing in a Diels-Alder Polymer Network. IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine. 2020; 27 (4):44-55.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSeppe Terryn; Joost Brancart; Ellen Roels; Guy Van Assche; Bram Vanderborght. 2020. "Room Temperature Self-Healing in Soft Pneumatic Robotics: Autonomous Self-Healing in a Diels-Alder Polymer Network." IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine 27, no. 4: 44-55.
In new-generation soft robots, the actuation performance can be increased by using multiple materials in the actuator designs. However, the lifetime of these actuators is often limited due to failure that occurs at the weak multi-material interfaces that rely almost entirely on physical interactions and where stress concentration appears during actuation. This paper proposes to develop soft pneumatic actuators out of multiple Diels–Alder polymers that can generate strong covalent bonds at the multi-material interface by means of a heat–cool cycle. Through tensile testing it is proven that high interfacial strength can be obtained between two merged Diels–Alder polymers. This merging principle is exploited in the manufacturing of multi-material bending soft pneumatic actuators in which interfaces are no longer the weakest links. The applicability of the actuators is illustrated by their operation in a soft hand and a soft gripper demonstrator. In addition, the use of Diels–Alder polymers incorporates healability in bending actuators. It is experimentally illustrated that full recovery of severe damage can be obtained by subjecting the multi-material actuators to a healing cycle.
Seppe Terryn; Ellen Roels; Joost Brancart; Guy Van Assche; Bram VanderBorght. Self-Healing and High Interfacial Strength in Multi-Material Soft Pneumatic Robots via Reversible Diels–Alder Bonds. Actuators 2020, 9, 34 .
AMA StyleSeppe Terryn, Ellen Roels, Joost Brancart, Guy Van Assche, Bram VanderBorght. Self-Healing and High Interfacial Strength in Multi-Material Soft Pneumatic Robots via Reversible Diels–Alder Bonds. Actuators. 2020; 9 (2):34.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSeppe Terryn; Ellen Roels; Joost Brancart; Guy Van Assche; Bram VanderBorght. 2020. "Self-Healing and High Interfacial Strength in Multi-Material Soft Pneumatic Robots via Reversible Diels–Alder Bonds." Actuators 9, no. 2: 34.
Inspired by the compliance found in many organisms, soft robots are made almost entirely out of flexible, soft material, making them suitable for applications in uncertain, dynamic task environments, including safe human-robot interactions. Their intrinsic compliance absorbs shocks and protects them against mechanical impacts. However, the soft materials used for their construction are highly susceptible to damage, such as cuts and perforations caused by sharp objects present in the uncontrolled and unpredictable environments they operate in. In this research, we propose to construct soft robotics entirely out of self-healing elastomers. On the basis of healing capacities found in nature, these polymers are given the ability to heal microscopic and macroscopic damage. Diels-Alder polymers, being thermoreversible covalent networks, were used to develop three applications of self-healing soft pneumatic actuators (a soft gripper, a soft hand, and artificial muscles). Soft pneumatic actuators commonly experience perforations and leaks due to excessive pressures or wear during operation. All three prototypes were designed using finite element modeling and mechanically characterized. The manufacturing method of the actuators exploits the self-healing behavior of the materials, which can be recycled. Realistic macroscopic damage could be healed entirely using a mild heat treatment. At the location of the scar, no weak spots were created, and the full performance of the actuators was nearly completely recovered after healing.
Seppe Terryn; Joost Brancart; Dirk Lefeber; Guy Van Assche; Bram Vanderborght. Self-healing soft pneumatic robots. Science Robotics 2017, 2, eaan4268 .
AMA StyleSeppe Terryn, Joost Brancart, Dirk Lefeber, Guy Van Assche, Bram Vanderborght. Self-healing soft pneumatic robots. Science Robotics. 2017; 2 (9):eaan4268.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSeppe Terryn; Joost Brancart; Dirk Lefeber; Guy Van Assche; Bram Vanderborght. 2017. "Self-healing soft pneumatic robots." Science Robotics 2, no. 9: eaan4268.
Inspired by the intrinsic softness and the corresponding embodied intelligence principles, soft pneumatic actuators (SPA) have been developed, which ensure safe interaction in unstructured, unknown environments. Due to their intrinsic softness, these actuators have the ability to resist large mechanical impacts. However, the soft materials used in these structures are in general susceptible to damage caused by sharp objects found in the unstructured environments. This paper proposes to integrate a self-healing (SH-) mechanism in SPAs, such that cuts, tears and perforations in the actuator can be self-healed. Diels-Alder (DA-) polymers, covalent polymer network systems based on the thermoreversible DA-reaction, were selected and their mechanical, as well as SH-properties, are described. To evaluate the feasibility of developing an SPA constructed out of SH-material, a single cell prototype, a SH-soft pneumatic cell (SH-SPC), was constructed entirely out of DA-polymers. Exploiting the SH-property of the DA-polymers, a completely new shaping process is presented in this paper, referred to as 'shaping through folding and self-healing'. 3D polygon structures, like the cubic SH-SPC, can be constructed by folding SH-polymer sheet. The sides of the structures can be sealed and made airtight using a SH-procedure at relatively low temperatures (<90 °C). Both the (thermo) mechanical and SH-properties of the SH-SPC prototype were experimentally validated and showed excellent performances. Macroscopic incisions in the prototype were completely healed using a SH-procedure (<70 °C). Starting from this single-cell prototype, it is straight-forward to develop a multi-cell prototype, the first SPA ever built completely out of SH-polymers.
Seppe Terryn; Glenn Mathijssen; Joost Brancart; Dirk Lefeber; Guy Van Assche; Bram Vanderborght. Development of a self-healing soft pneumatic actuator: a first concept. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics 2015, 10, 046007 .
AMA StyleSeppe Terryn, Glenn Mathijssen, Joost Brancart, Dirk Lefeber, Guy Van Assche, Bram Vanderborght. Development of a self-healing soft pneumatic actuator: a first concept. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics. 2015; 10 (4):046007.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSeppe Terryn; Glenn Mathijssen; Joost Brancart; Dirk Lefeber; Guy Van Assche; Bram Vanderborght. 2015. "Development of a self-healing soft pneumatic actuator: a first concept." Bioinspiration & Biomimetics 10, no. 4: 046007.