Department of Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4.
J R Soc Interface. 2021 Nov;18(184):20201042. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2020.1042. Epub 2021 Nov 3.
Skeletal muscle provides a compact solution for performing multiple tasks under diverse operational conditions, a capability lacking in many current engineered systems. Here, we evaluate if shape memory alloy (SMA) components can serve as artificial muscles with tunable mechanical performance. We experimentally impose cyclic stimuli, electric and mechanical, to an SMA wire and demonstrate that this material can mimic the response of the avian humerotriceps, a skeletal muscle that acts in the dynamic control of wing shapes. We next numerically evaluate the feasibility of using SMA springs as artificial leg muscles for a bipedal walking robot. Altering the phase offset between mechanical and electrical stimuli was sufficient for both synthetic and natural muscle to shift between actuation, braking and spring-like behaviour.
骨骼肌为在多种工作条件下执行多项任务提供了一种紧凑的解决方案，而这是许多当前工程系统所缺乏的。在这里，我们评估形状记忆合金 (SMA) 组件是否可以用作具有可调节机械性能的人造肌肉。我们通过实验对 SMA 线施加循环电和机械刺激，并证明这种材料可以模拟鸟类肱二头肌的反应，肱二头肌是一种在翅膀形状的动态控制中起作用的骨骼肌。接下来，我们通过数值评估使用 SMA 弹簧作为双足步行机器人的人造腿部肌肉的可行性。改变机械和电刺激之间的相位偏移对于合成和天然肌肉来说都是足够的，足以使其在驱动、制动和类似弹簧的行为之间切换。
