Shape-locking in architected materials through 3D printed magnetically activated joints

Shape morphing is the ability of objects to adapt to different shapes and reduce stress concentrations through increased contact area. This is a common trait of natural and engineered objects and has several applications in, among others, soft robotics and orthopedic implants. Shape morphing is achieved through flexible materials or rigid...

Towards Multi Shape Morphing Structures

The bending stiffness of a structure is highly dependent on its shape, and this relation can be utilized to allow for a structure to morph into different shapes during deformation. This paper focuses on shape-morphing into multiple shapes (Multi Shape-Morphing), and presents a design method for a parametric<br/>structure consisting of beams,...

Reversible shape morphing of a neutrally stable shell by untethered local activation of embedded Ni-Ti wires

This paper presents a novel shape morphing concept, which exploits neutral stability to achieve reversible shape morphing. The concept is based on actively changing the material stiffness on a local level in order to perturb the neutral stability and thus induce the shell to deform. This concept is realized by embedding Ni-Ti wires in a...

Shape Morphing and Slice Shift Correction in Congenital Heart Defect Model Generation

Computational heart modeling is a promising approach for improving the prognosis of patients born with congenital heart defects. To create accurate physics-based digital cardiac twins of this population, it is crucial to accurately represent the highly diverse and unique subject-specific heart geometry. In young pediatric patients, this is a...

4D Printing Magnetically Activated Shape Morphing Objects

Magnetic Soft (shape memory) Materials (MSM for short) are a form of shape memory hybrid in which the shape change is initiated by magnetic particles embedded in an elastomer matrix. When an external magnetic field is applied, these magnetized particles will align themselves to this magnetic field, straining the elastomer in a specific shape....

Magneto‐/ electro‐responsive polymers toward manufacturing, characterization, and biomedical/ soft robotic applications

Magneto-/ electro-responsive polymers (MERPs) are a class of stimuli-responsive materials that are actuated when triggered by external magnetic/ electric fields. MERPs exhibit rapid, reversible, and safe multi-functional and dynamic (i.e., changing with time) properties, which can effectively be manipulated at different length scales. These...

Neutrally stable shells with embedded actuation

Elastically neutrally stable structures are compelling within the field of compliant mechanisms, since no force is required to deform them. Several examples of this state of elastic neutral stability exist, which often use equal but opposing structures to balance internal forces. This thesis is on the design of an active neutrally stable...

Designing Magnetic Soft Materials for 4D Printing

Magnetic soft materials are a newly developed material that can transform into programmed shapes when it is placed in an external magnetic field. It is made out of silicone with embedded magnetic particles that lay in magnetization patterns due to 3D printing them under a magnetic field. Its characteristics are fast, remotely controlled,...

Development of a Shape Memory Alloy Spring Network for Shape Control: for shape-morphing products

The interest in shape-shifting materials has increased over the past years. A part of this field concerns the shape-shifting of sheets from flat configuration into a double curved configuration, requiring nonuniform strain among the sheet. This functionality can be used for various purposes, in different application fields. For example, shape...

2D lattice material architectures for actuation

The Kagome structure has been shown to be a highly suited micro-architecture for adaptive lattice materials, in which selected lattice members are replaced by actuators aiming to create shape morphing structures. It is the combination of in-plane isotropy, high stiffness and low energy requirement for actuation that makes the planar Kagome...

3D Printed Actuators: Reversibility, Relaxation, and Ratcheting

Additive manufacturing strives to combine any combination of materials into 3D functional structures and devices, ultimately opening up the possibility of 3D printed machines. It remains difficult to actuate such devices, thus limiting the scope of 3D printed machines to passive devices or necessitating the incorporation of external actuators...

2D Lattice Materials for Actuation

Externally triggered lengthening or shortening (actuation) of one or more members in a lattice material can be used to achieve macroscopic shape changes. The three main attributes looked for in 2D lattice materials to be deemed suitable for actuation are in-plane isotropy, high specific elastic properties and limited energy requirement for...

Materials that move: Creation of a shape morphing composite

Objects surrounding us are predominantly static. This report describes a step towards a more dynamic world. A new composite is introduced that is able to change its shape like a hinge. The process started with analysing and reproducing a composite consisting of a low-melting point metal and a silicone, created in 2016 (by van Meerbeek et al.)....