Gentle robots use pliant supplies resembling elastomers to work together safely with the human physique and different difficult, delicate objects and environments. A workforce of Rice College researchers has developed an analytical mannequin that may predict the curing time of platinum-catalyzed silicone elastomers as a operate of temperature. The mannequin may assist cut back vitality waste and enhance throughput for elastomer-based element manufacturing.
“In our research, we checked out elastomers as a category of supplies that allows tender robotics, a area that has seen an enormous surge in progress over the previous decade,” stated Daniel Preston, a Rice assistant professor of mechanical engineering and corresponding creator on a research revealed in Cell Stories Bodily Science.
“Whereas there’s some associated analysis on supplies like epoxies and even on a number of particular silicone elastomers, till now, there was no detailed quantitative account of the curing response for most of the commercially accessible silicone elastomers that individuals are really utilizing to make tender robots. Our work fills that hole.”
The platinum-catalyzed silicone elastomers that Preston and his workforce studied sometimes begin out as two viscoelastic liquids that, when blended collectively, remodel over time right into a rubbery stable. As a liquid combination, they are often poured into intricate molds and thus used for casting advanced elements. The curing course of can happen at room temperature, nevertheless it will also be sped up utilizing warmth.
Manufacturing processes involving elastomers have sometimes relied on empirical estimates for temperature and period to manage the curing course of. Nonetheless, this ballpark method makes it tough to foretell how elastomers will behave beneath various curing situations. Having a quantitative framework to find out precisely how temperature impacts curing velocity will allow producers to maximise effectivity and cut back waste.
“Beforehand, utilizing current fashions to foretell elastomers’ curing conduct beneath various temperature situations was a way more difficult job,” stated Te Faye Yap, a graduate scholar within the Preston lab who’s the lead creator of the research. “There’s an enormous must make manufacturing processes extra environment friendly and cut back waste, each when it comes to vitality consumption and supplies.”
To grasp how temperature impacts the curing course of, the researchers used a rheometer—an instrument that measures the mechanical properties of liquids and tender solids—to investigate the curing conduct of six commercially accessible platinum-catalyzed elastomers.
“We had been in a position to develop a mannequin primarily based on what is named the Arrhenius relationship that relates this curing response charge to the temperature at which the elastomer is being cured,” Preston stated. “Now now we have a very nice quantitative understanding of precisely how temperature impacts curing velocity.”
The Arrhenius framework, a formulation that relates the speed of chemical reactions to temperature, has been utilized in a wide range of contexts, resembling semiconductor processing and virus inactivation.
Preston and his group have used the framework in a few of their prior work and located it additionally applies to curing reactions for supplies like epoxies as described in earlier research. On this research, the researchers used the Arrhenius framework together with rheological knowledge to develop an analytical mannequin that might instantly influence manufacturing practices.
“On this work, we actually probed the curing response as a operate of the temperature of the elastomer, however we additionally regarded in depth on the mechanical properties of the elastomers when cured at elevated temperatures meant to realize these greater throughputs and curing speeds,” Preston stated.
The researchers carried out mechanical testing on elastomer samples that had been cured at room temperature and at elevated temperatures to see whether or not heating therapies influence the supplies’ mechanical properties.
“We discovered that exposing the elastomers to 70 levels Celsius (158 Fahrenheit) doesn’t alter the tensile and compressive properties of the fabric when in comparison with elements that had been cured at room temperature,” Yap stated.
“Furthermore, to show the utilization of accelerated curing when making a tool, we fabricated tender, pneumatically actuated grippers at each elevated and room temperature situations, and we noticed no distinction within the efficiency of the grippers upon pressurizing.”
Whereas temperature didn’t appear to impact the elastomers’ capability to resist mechanical stress, the researchers discovered that it did influence adhesion between elements.
“Say we have already cured a number of totally different elements that have to be assembled collectively into the entire, tender robotic system,” Preston stated. “Once we then attempt to adhere these elements to one another, there’s an influence on the adhesion or the power to stay them collectively. On this case, that’s significantly affected by the extent of curing that has occurred earlier than we tried to bond.”
The analysis advances the scientific understanding of how temperature can be utilized to control fabrication processes involving elastomers, which may open up the tender robotics design area for brand new or improved purposes. One key space of curiosity is the biomedical business.
“Surgical robots usually profit from being compliant or tender in nature as a result of working contained in the human physique means you wish to decrease the danger of puncture or bruising to tissue or organs,” Preston stated.
“So plenty of the robots that now function contained in the human physique are transferring to softer architectures and are benefiting from that. Some researchers have additionally began to look into utilizing tender robotic techniques to assist reposition sufferers confined to a mattress for lengthy durations of time to attempt to keep away from placing strain on sure areas.”
Different areas of potential use for tender robotics are agriculture (as an example, selecting fruits or greens which can be fragile or bruise simply), catastrophe aid (search-and-rescue operations in impacted areas with restricted or tough entry), and analysis (accumulating or dealing with samples).
“This research supplies a framework that might broaden the design area for manufacturing with thermally cured elastomers to create advanced buildings that exhibit excessive elasticity, which can be utilized to develop medical gadgets, shock absorbers, and tender robots,” Yap stated.
Silicone elastomers’ distinctive properties—biocompatibility, flexibility, thermal resistance, shock absorption, insulation and extra—will proceed to be an asset in a spread of industries, and the present analysis might help broaden and enhance their use past present capabilities.
Extra data:
Te Faye Yap et al, Thermally accelerated curing of platinum-catalyzed elastomers, Cell Stories Bodily Science (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2024.101849
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