ABSTRACT
A new type of absorption-powered artificial muscle provides high performance without needing a temperature change. These muscles, comprising coiled carbon nanotube fibers infiltrated with silicone rubber, can contract up to 50% to generate up to 1.2 kJ kg(-1) . The drive mechanism for actuation is the rubber swelling during exposure to a nonpolar solvent. Theoretical energy efficiency conversion can be as high as 16%.
Subject(s)
Biomimetic Materials/chemistry , Muscle, Skeletal/chemistry , Nanofibers/chemistry , Nanotubes, Carbon/chemistry , Nanotubes, Carbon/ultrastructure , Silicone Elastomers/chemistry , Absorption, Physicochemical , Animals , Elastic Modulus , Energy Transfer , Humans , Materials Testing , Nanoconjugates/chemistry , Nanoconjugates/ultrastructure , Nanofibers/ultrastructure , Stress, MechanicalABSTRACT
Magnesium-diboride-coated carbon nanotube arrays are synthesized by templating carbon-nanotube aerogel sheets with boron and then converting the boron to MgB2. The resultant MgB2-CNT sheets are twisted into flexible, light-weight yarns that have a superconducting transition around 37.8 K and critical current and critical field comparable with those of existing MgB2 wires, but have about 20 times lower density than bulk MgB2.