Magnetoactive microlattice metamaterials with highly tunable stiffness and fast response rate

Zhang, Wenqiang1; Zhou, Jingzhuo1; Jia, Yanwen1; Chen, Juzheng1; Pu, Yiru1; Fan, Rong1,2; Meng, Fanling3; Ge, Qi4; Lu, Yang1,2,5

2023-08-25

10.1038/s41427-023-00492-x

NPG ASIA MATERIALS   Impact Factor & Quartile

1884-4049

1884-4057

Active metamaterials with shapes or mechanical properties that can be controlled remotely are promising candidates for soft robots, flexible electronics, and medical applications. However, current active metamaterials often have long response times and short ranges of linear working strains. Here, we demonstrate magnetoactive microlattice metamaterials constructed from 3D-printed, ultra-flexible polymer shells filled with magnetorheological (MR) fluid. Under compressive stress, the magnetorheological fluid develops hydrostatic pressure, allowing for a linear compression strain of more than 30% without buckling. We further show that under a relatively low magnetic field strength (approximately 60 mT), the microlattices can become approximately 200% stiffer than those in a relaxed state, and the energy absorption increases similar to 16 times. Furthermore, our microlattices showed an ultra-low response time with "field on" and "field off" times of similar to 200 ms and similar to 50ms, respectively. The ability to continuously tune the mechanical properties of these materials in real time make it possible to modulate stress-strain behavior on demand. Our study provides a new route toward large-scale, highly tunable, and remotely controllable metamaterials with potential applications in wearable exoskeletons, tactile sensors, and medical supports.

SCI

English

Others

We acknowledge financial support from the Science Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality under type C grant SGDX2020110309300301, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Hong Kong Research Grant Council (RGC) joint resea[N_HKU159/22] ; National Natural Science Foundation of China[7020008] ; Hong Kong Research Grant Council (RGC)[9667226] ; null[SGDX2020110309300301]

Materials Science

Materials Science, Multidisciplinary

WOS:001054263200001

NATURE PORTFOLIO

Web of Science

1.City Univ Hong Kong, Dept Mech Engn, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Peoples R China
2.City Univ Hong Kong, Nanomfg Lab NML, Shenzhen Res Inst, Shenzhen, Peoples R China
3.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Environm Sci & Engn, Shenzhen, Peoples R China
4.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Dept Mech & Energy Engn, Shenzhen, Peoples R China
5.Univ Hong Kong, Dept Mech Engn, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, Peoples R China

Zhang, Wenqiang,Zhou, Jingzhuo,Jia, Yanwen,et al. Magnetoactive microlattice metamaterials with highly tunable stiffness and fast response rate[J]. NPG ASIA MATERIALS,2023,15(1).

Zhang, Wenqiang.,Zhou, Jingzhuo.,Jia, Yanwen.,Chen, Juzheng.,Pu, Yiru.,...&Lu, Yang.(2023).Magnetoactive microlattice metamaterials with highly tunable stiffness and fast response rate.NPG ASIA MATERIALS,15(1).

Zhang, Wenqiang,et al."Magnetoactive microlattice metamaterials with highly tunable stiffness and fast response rate".NPG ASIA MATERIALS 15.1(2023).