Aerospace and Engineering Mechanics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Soft Matter. 2018 Apr 25;14(16):3127-3134. doi: 10.1039/c8sm00103k.
Nematic elastomers dramatically change their shape in response to diverse stimuli including light and heat. In this paper, we provide a systematic framework for the design of complex three dimensional shapes through the actuation of heterogeneously patterned nematic elastomer sheets. These sheets are composed of nonisometric origami building blocks which, when appropriately linked together, can actuate into a diverse array of three dimensional faceted shapes. We demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that the nonisometric origami building blocks actuate in the predicted manner, and that the integration of multiple building blocks leads to complex, yet predictable and robust, shapes. We then show that this experimentally realized functionality enables a rich design landscape for actuation using nematic elastomers. We highlight this landscape through examples, which utilize large arrays of these building blocks to realize a desired three dimensional origami shape. In combination, these results amount to an engineering design principle, which provides a template for the programming of arbitrarily complex three dimensional shapes on demand.
各向异性弹性体在受到多种刺激（包括光和热）时会发生显著的形状变化。在本文中，我们通过对各向异性弹性体异形图案薄片的驱动，提供了一个设计复杂三维形状的系统框架。这些薄片由非等角折纸积木组成，当它们以适当的方式连接在一起时，可以驱动出各种三维多面体形。我们从理论和实验两方面证明了非等角折纸积木的驱动方式符合预期，并且多个积木的集成可以产生复杂但可预测且稳定的形状。然后，我们展示了这种在实验中实现的功能为使用各向异性弹性体进行驱动提供了丰富的设计空间。我们通过实例强调了这一设计空间，这些实例利用大量的这些积木来实现所需的三维折纸形状。总的来说，这些结果构成了一个工程设计原理，为按需编程任意复杂的三维形状提供了模板。
