Magnetic field-directed self-assembly of magnetic particles in polymeric thin films can be used to produce magnetically responsive materials for applications in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), soft robotics, and biomedical devices. In this research, large iron microparticles (<i>d</i> ≈ 4 µm) were chained in elastomer films (prepared via solvent casting in a uniform magnetic field), and the films’ directional response to magnetic fields was studied. Chaining caused an anisotropic response to an externally applied magnetic field, where strips of the polymer bent in order to align the chains with the direction of the applied field. Magnetometry measurements of the composite films were also performed to better understand their directional magnetic and mechanical responses. This unique actuation behavior led to several applications: lifters which can lift up to 50 times the film’s own weight, valves with tunable shapes dependent on the strength of the magnetic field, a pump which could be actuated in a peristaltic fashion, and an accordion structure with two unique conformations (extended and compressed) depending on its orientation in the applied field.

Directionally controlled actuation of soft robotic lifters, accordions, and valves using chained iron microparticles

251st National Meeting (2016)

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