RIS ID

137937

Publication Details

Mu, J., de Andrade, M. Jung., Fang, S., Wang, X., Gao, E., Li, N., Kim, S. Hyeong., Wang, H., Hou, C., Zhang, Q., Zhu, M., Qian, D., Lu, H., Kongahage, D., Talebian, S., Foroughi, J., Spinks, G., Kim, H., Ware, T. H., Sim, H. Jun., Lee, D. Yeop., Jang, Y., Kim, S. Jeong. & Baughman, R. H. (2019). Sheath-run artificial muscles. Science, 365 (6449), 150-155.

Abstract

Although guest-filled carbon nanotube yarns provide record performance as torsional and tensile artificialmuscles, they are expensive, and only part of themuscle effectively contributes to actuation.We describe a muscle type that provides higher performance, in which the guest that drives actuation is a sheath on a twisted or coiled core that can be an inexpensive yarn. This change from guest-filled to sheath-run artificial muscles increases the maximum work capacity by factors of 1.70 to 2.15 for tensile muscles driven electrothermally or by vapor absorption. A sheath-run electrochemical muscle generates 1.98 watts per gram of average contractile power-40 times that for human muscle and 9.0 times that of the highest power alternative electrochemical muscle.Theory predicts the observed performance advantages of sheath-run muscles.

Grant Number

ARC/CE140100012

Grant Number

ARC/DE12010517

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