The University of Texas System

Jiuke Mu

Ray H Baughman

Shaoli Fang

Carter Sebastian Haines

Na Li

Zhong Wang

Marcio Dias Lima

Ali E Aliev

Monica Jung De Andrade

Zunfeng Liu

Run Wang

Hetao Chu

Jinsong Leng

Xinghao Hu

Previous electrochemically-powered yarn muscles cannot be usefully operated between extreme negative and extreme positive potentials, since strokes during electron injection and during hole injection partially cancel because they are in the same direction. Unipolar-stroke carbon nanotube yarn muscles are described in which muscle strokes are additive between extreme negative and extreme positive potentials, and stroke increases with potential scan rate. These electrochemical artificial muscles include an electrically conducting twisted or coiled yarn and a material that dramatically shifts the potential of zero charge of the electrochemically actuated yarn.

Unipolar artificial muscles and methods of use thereof

Sheath-run artificial muscles (or SRAMs) are described in which the dimensional changes and/or modulus changes of a sheath on the surface of a twisted or coiled host yarn or fiber drives torsional and tensile actuation. The sheath-core artificial muscle includes a sheath on a coiled core yarn or fiber that has inserted twist, in which the sheath does not include a yarn, the coiled core yarn or fiber includes a core yarn or fiber, the sheath can change volume, modulus, or a combination thereof when actuated by an influence source to drive actuation, and the influence source is selected from a group consisting of absorption processes, desorption processes, changes in temperature, changes in external pressure, changes in a magnetic field, changes in an electric field, exposures to actinic radiation, electrochemical charge and discharge, chemical reactions, and combinations thereof. These sheath-run muscles can be used for diverse applications, such as robots, robotic devices, energy harvesters, muscles that enable electrical energy harvesting, comfort-adjusting textiles, comfort-adjusting clothing, bio-powered intelligent muscles that control the release of drugs, muscles for appropriate drug delivery, intelligent muscles that sense their environment and actuate in response, muscles for artificial limbs and orthotic gloves, muscles for haptic applications, muscles that can perform in extreme environments, and muscles for intelligent solar panel positioning.

Sheath-run artificial muscles and methods of use thereof

Cooling by a twist-untwist process, by a stretch-release process for twisted, coiled, or supercoiled yarns or fibers, and methods and systems thereof. High mechanocaloric cooling results from release of inserted twist or from stretch release for twisted, coiled, or supercoiled fibers, including natural rubber fibers, NiTi wires, and polyethylene fishing line. Twist utilization can increase cooling and cooling efficiencies. A cooler using twist insertion and release can be shorter and smaller in volume than a cooler that requires a large elastomeric elongation. The cooler system can be utilized in mechanochromic textiles and remotely readable tensile and torsional sensors.

Methods for torsional refrigeration by twisted, coiled, and supercoiled fibers and systems thereof

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Plano, TX, United States of America

Jiuke Mu