Liquid metal motor
Liquid metal motor
Liquid metal has demonstrated an enormous potential for developing soft functional devices and machines. However, current liquid metal enabled machines suffer from several issues, such as the requirement of a liquid environment, generation of weak actuating forces, and insufficient maneuverability. To overcome these restrictions, here, a motor is developed based on the electrical actuation of liquid metal droplets without the need for conventional electromagnets. The approach is distinguished by (1) the encapsulation of electrolyte and multiple liquid metal droplets within an enclosed system, and (2) the creation of stable and continuous torque outside a liquid environment. In addition, a liquid metal electrical brush is introduced to operate the motor with low friction and low wear. The unique driving mechanism endows the motor with several advantages, including low friction, no sparking, low noise, versatile working environment, and being built from soft materials that could offer new opportunities for developing soft robotics.
Electrical Materials, Mechanical Design, Metals
Wang, Erlong
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Shu, Jian
10c82f94-8f99-4785-b33f-fa20484344fd
Jin, Hu
71a612f4-09c0-40a4-80d4-6616f1fc8610
Tao, Zhe
1a44438a-4bc3-4ef5-a351-ba655f9991e7
Xie, Jie
95f5ab65-2bf0-4a5d-b0e5-1bfa27e1cb34
Tang, Shi Yang
1d0f15c6-2a3e-4bad-a3d8-fc267db93ed4
Li, Xiangpeng
73f32905-ad7c-4ce3-93a4-78237b98f4fb
Li, Weihua
e2555036-0e48-425a-afeb-db6ffba5238e
Dickey, Michael D.
5fe7588c-05b3-4e27-a023-e9a5cb72a305
Zhang, Shiwu
da008f91-71fa-42fb-879e-68b91429e1d6
22 January 2021
Wang, Erlong
32321047-3d3d-47d7-b2db-94fa55fcb85a
Shu, Jian
10c82f94-8f99-4785-b33f-fa20484344fd
Jin, Hu
71a612f4-09c0-40a4-80d4-6616f1fc8610
Tao, Zhe
1a44438a-4bc3-4ef5-a351-ba655f9991e7
Xie, Jie
95f5ab65-2bf0-4a5d-b0e5-1bfa27e1cb34
Tang, Shi Yang
1d0f15c6-2a3e-4bad-a3d8-fc267db93ed4
Li, Xiangpeng
73f32905-ad7c-4ce3-93a4-78237b98f4fb
Li, Weihua
e2555036-0e48-425a-afeb-db6ffba5238e
Dickey, Michael D.
5fe7588c-05b3-4e27-a023-e9a5cb72a305
Zhang, Shiwu
da008f91-71fa-42fb-879e-68b91429e1d6
Wang, Erlong, Shu, Jian, Jin, Hu, Tao, Zhe, Xie, Jie, Tang, Shi Yang, Li, Xiangpeng, Li, Weihua, Dickey, Michael D. and Zhang, Shiwu
(2021)
Liquid metal motor.
iScience, 24 (1), [101911].
(doi:10.1016/j.isci.2020.101911).
Abstract
Liquid metal has demonstrated an enormous potential for developing soft functional devices and machines. However, current liquid metal enabled machines suffer from several issues, such as the requirement of a liquid environment, generation of weak actuating forces, and insufficient maneuverability. To overcome these restrictions, here, a motor is developed based on the electrical actuation of liquid metal droplets without the need for conventional electromagnets. The approach is distinguished by (1) the encapsulation of electrolyte and multiple liquid metal droplets within an enclosed system, and (2) the creation of stable and continuous torque outside a liquid environment. In addition, a liquid metal electrical brush is introduced to operate the motor with low friction and low wear. The unique driving mechanism endows the motor with several advantages, including low friction, no sparking, low noise, versatile working environment, and being built from soft materials that could offer new opportunities for developing soft robotics.
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Published date: 22 January 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This research has been partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51975550 , 51828503 , U1713206 , 61503270 ). X.L. is supported in part by a grant from NSFC under Grant No. 61873339 , a grant from China Postdoctoral Science Foundation under Grant No. 2016M590497 , a grant from National Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province under Grant No. BK20190096 , and supported by the State Key Laboratory of Applied Optics. The authors declare no competing interest.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors
Keywords:
Electrical Materials, Mechanical Design, Metals
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 481775
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/481775
ISSN: 2589-0042
PURE UUID: b6067cdb-964c-4095-997b-3f450b959b83
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Date deposited: 07 Sep 2023 16:36
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:13
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Contributors
Author:
Erlong Wang
Author:
Jian Shu
Author:
Hu Jin
Author:
Zhe Tao
Author:
Jie Xie
Author:
Shi Yang Tang
Author:
Xiangpeng Li
Author:
Weihua Li
Author:
Michael D. Dickey
Author:
Shiwu Zhang
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