Smart Materials and Structures最新文献

{"title":"High energy dissipation magnetorheological effect for harsh vibration and impact environments: contribution of dynamic hydrogen bonding","authors":"Meng Xin Wang, Huixing Wang, Tianyu Gao, Nan Kang, M. El Mansori, Boyi Xiong, Zhisen Zhu, W Zhang","doi":"10.1088/1361-665x/ae3500","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/ae3500","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Severe vibrations and impacts, which result in structural damage and equipment failure, are prevalent in vehicle engineering and aerospace fields. Magnetorheological fluids (MRFs) can offer continuously tunable damping in response to an applied magnetic field, rendering them well-suited for mechanical systems that require active vibration control. However, the field-induced chain-like structures within MRFs tend to break down under harsh vibration or impact loading, severely degrading the MR damper’s stability and energy dissipation capacity. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) can effectively strengthen molecular interactions in MRFs through dynamic hydrogen bonding, thereby improving the stability of the chain-like structures. By tailoring the composition and proportion of their hydrogen bond acceptors and hydrogen bond donors, DESs can significantly improve the damping performance of MRFs under harsh vibration or impact loading. We developed a series of MRFs with DESs as the carrier liquids, featuring tunable hydrogen bond strength and viscosity. These MRFs exhibit either a broader tunable stress range or a higher yield stress, thus meeting protection requirements under various vibration and impact environments. The dynamic performance of the DES-based MRFs was evaluated using a dual-channel MR damper. Compared with the viscosity-matched silicone oil-based counterpart, the DES-based MRF damper exhibits up to a 22.5% wider tunable damping range and a 11.8% higher energy dissipation capacity under harsh vibration and impact conditions. This research presents a novel solution for high stability and energy dissipation in automotive suspensions, aircraft landing gears, and other engineering systems under various vibration and impact environments.","PeriodicalId":21656,"journal":{"name":"Smart Materials and Structures","volume":"35 1","pages":"015042-015042"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147893033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing flexible actuation and fatigue resistance in biomass hydrogel artificial muscles through the multi-layer stacking of carbon nanofiber and electrochemically active composite films","authors":"Junjie Yang, Weilong Li, Mingjian Fang, Jintong Yao, Zhijie Wang, Zhen Jiang, Jihong Sun, Longfei Wang","doi":"10.1088/1361-665x/ae270d","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/ae270d","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Grounding in exploring a novel class of electric actuators, specifically flexible, electrically–responsive artificial muscles, aim at achieving an optimal balance between robust actuation and durability. This study focused on the development of biomass hydrogel artificial muscles (BHAMs), which emulated the function of biological muscles by converting electrical energy into mechanical energy. These actuators held potential applications in robotics, medical devices, and flexible electronics. Traditional BHAMs, made from pure sodium alginate (SA), suffered from limited deflection and short operating life. The study sought to enhance the flexible actuation and fatigue resistance of BHAMs by incorporating carboxymethyl chitosan into the SA matrix and adjusting the multi–layer stacked carbon nanofiber and electrochemically active composite films to achieve superior efficiency and durability. The optimized five–layer structure improved performance by 101.8% over the three–layer control, achieving a maximum deflection curvature of 0.24° mm −1 (1.4 times higher), an operating life of 7270 s (2520 s longer), a bending speed of 0.0042 mm s −1 (5 times faster), and a fracture length of 13.4 mm (94.2% longer). The mechanical and electrochemical properties showed significant improvements over the control group, and the optimal layer structure enhanced the flexible actuation and fatigue–resistant characteristics of BHAMs.","PeriodicalId":21656,"journal":{"name":"Smart Materials and Structures","volume":"34 12","pages":"125018-125018"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147896298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhanced bidirectional variable modulus property in NdFeB-based MREs via magnetocrystalline anisotropic and optimized particle distribution","authors":"Yinhao Diao, Tianxiang Du, Ning Ma, Baoguo Han, Xufeng Dong","doi":"10.1088/1361-665x/ae10ee","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/ae10ee","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract To improve the wide-frequency vibration control capability of semi-active vibration isolators, the bidirectional variable modulus performance of hard magnetic magnetorheological elastomers (H-MRE) is crucial. To further enhance the characteristics of H-MRE, various technical solutions have been implemented in recent years, including filling H-MRE with pre-magnetized hard magnetic particles and doping soft magnetic particles into H-MRE. However, existing studies have faced issues such as particle agglomeration and complex preparation processes. In response to the contradiction between the complexity of the H-MRE preparation process and performance improvement in existing research, this study improves MRE performance by optimizing the hard magnetic particles and their distribution in H-MRE. By replacing traditional hard magnetic particles with magnetocrystalline anisotropic NdFeB particles, which exhibit better magnetic properties such as remanent magnetization, coercivity and saturation magnetization. The study systematically investigates the mechanism by which particle distribution influences H-MRE performance. Experimental results show that while enhancing the amplitude of positive modulus changes, the reverse modulus change amplitude of H-MRE is increased to 23.3%. This study lays an important foundation for the application of H-MRE in vibration control fields.","PeriodicalId":21656,"journal":{"name":"Smart Materials and Structures","volume":"34 10","pages":"105023-105023"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147912568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Strategy for regulating one-way and two-way shape memory effects in crystalline thermoplastic polyurethane","authors":"Shaojun Chen, Yonghang Zhang, Youhan Zeng, Yujie Deng, Haitao Zhuo, Haiqiang Zhong, Huaiping Zhang","doi":"10.1088/1361-665x/ae021b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/ae021b","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are one of the most typical intelligent materials. However, the precise regulation of the shape memory effect (SME) remains a critical challenge in the field. This study introduces a simple strategy for regulating the SME, employing crystalline thermoplastic polyurethane (CTPU) as the raw material and utilizing isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) trimer to regulate both one-way SME (1W-SME) and two-way SME (2W-SME). Results showed that incorporation of IPDI-trimer induced a cross-linked network within CTPU. The tensile strength at break reached a maximum of 27.4 MPa, and the elongation at break remained relatively high (2484%) when the IPDI-trimer content was below 10wt%. The resulting cross-linked CTPU exhibited exceptional one-way shape memory performance, achieving a 99.9% recovery rate and 96.4% fixation rate. Notably, switchable 2W-SME emerged when IPDI-trimer concentrations exceeded 11wt%. This dual SME functionality, coupled with a 54.3% actuation magnitude, signified a significant advancement in SMPs capabilities. Systematic analysis reveals that shape memory activation originates from the synergistic effects of oriented crystalline domain melting and energy release within the cross-linked network under thermal stimuli. The precise control of 1W-SME and 2W-SME demonstrated in this study fundamentally arises from regulated crystallinity and cross-linking degree of CTPU. Owing to these enhanced integrated properties, these materials show great promise for diverse applications, particularly in smart sensors and intelligent robotics.","PeriodicalId":21656,"journal":{"name":"Smart Materials and Structures","volume":"34 9","pages":"095019-095019"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147914790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A metric for evaluating the pyroelectric conversion efficiency of pyroelectric nanogenerators","authors":"Xilong Kang, Tianyang Geng, Fuli Li, Wenming Zhang, Junlei Wang","doi":"10.1088/1361-665x/ae02d0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/ae02d0","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Pyroelectric nanogenerator (PyNG) technology has gradually become the most promising technology in the field of high-entropy energy harvest. However, due to the diversity of PyNG types, it is difficult to compare their superiorities uniformly, which poses a challenge in the development and optimization of PyNG. This article quantifies the ‘thermal input’ of the PyNG by introducing the physical quantity of heat flux, and quantifies the ‘electrical output’ of the PyNG by citing output power density. Further the evaluation metric for PyNG: pyroelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) has been derived. Then, a testing device capable of simultaneously detecting the heat flux and output electrical characteristics of PyNG was fabricated used to measure the PCE. Three groups of PyNGs with different components (P(VDF-TrFE)-BaTiO 3 ) were used in the PCE experiment, and their precise PCE were measured for the first time through a series of experiments. The optimum PCE of these three PyNGs are: 2.05 × 10 −4 , 2.7 × 10 −4 , and 3.19 × 10 −4 . This study establishes a metric for quantitatively and accurately characterizing PCE, and delivering simpler, and more intuitive results. The evaluation metric can provide a reference direction for the research and optimization of PyNG.","PeriodicalId":21656,"journal":{"name":"Smart Materials and Structures","volume":"34 9","pages":"095022-095022"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147922698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ultra-robustness capacitive flexible tactile sensor for grasping pressure feedback and sign language recognition","authors":"Benyuan Fu, Xin Dong, Hao Wang, Zhengqiu Xie","doi":"10.1088/1361-665x/adf615","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/adf615","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Flexible tactile sensors have attracted significant interest in robotics, medical monitoring, and wearable devices. This paper presents a capacitive flexible tactile sensor that employs a nickel carbonyl powder (NCP)-silicone rubber (SR) composite for pressure and bending sensing, fabricated using magnetic field curing. The performance of the sensor is evaluated independently for pressure and bending sensing, including sensitivity, response time, repeatability, and cyclic stability. The pressure sensor exhibits a notable capacitance changing of 171.9% within the range of 0–41 KPa, demonstrating fast (80 ms) responses and (120 ms) recovery times, and indicates excellent repeatability under different peak pressure ranging from 2–15 KPa. It also shows excellent stability across 5000 repeated compression tests. Meanwhile, the bending sensor reveals a significant capacitance changing of 108% at ranging from 0°–180°, with rapid (80 ms) responses and (48 ms) recovery times, and indicates stable repeatability under different peak angle ranging from 60°–150°. Its reliable cyclic stability is confirmed through 1000 bending cyclic tests. Furthermore, the microscopic properties of magnetorheological elastomers (MRE) are further elucidated. Notably, the sensor is integrated into a breathable, lightweight glove, facilitating feedback on grasping pressure and enabling sign language recognition (SLR). When paired with machine learning (ML), it achieves an impressive accuracy of 97.73% in SLR. Overall, this research advances the development of flexible tactile sensors and highlights their considerable potential in human–computer interaction, medical health, wearable devices.","PeriodicalId":21656,"journal":{"name":"Smart Materials and Structures","volume":"34 8","pages":"085009-085009"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147881865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Body temperature-triggered shape-memory effect of polylactide/thermoplastic polyurethane/poly(ethylene glycol) compounds enabled by a layered structure design: toward potential application of ureter stent","authors":"Xiang Yu, Yu Zheng, Chao Lü","doi":"10.1088/1361-665x/aded5c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/aded5c","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The switching temperature ( T s ) of polylactide/thermoplastic polyurethane (PLA/TPU) shape-memory blend is much higher than the body temperature, which is regarded as the key obstacle for it to realize biomedical applications. In this study, PLA was first blended with the plasticizer of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and then laminated with TPU into the bilayer and sandwich structured shape-memory polymeric materials. Unlike that PEG would migrate from PLA into TPU during direct blending, PEG was totally confined in PLA of the layered structures, which significantly optimized the plasticization effect and successfully adjusted T s to the body temperature range. Then, the body temperature-triggered shape-memory effect (SME) was researched and the related shape-memory mechanism was deeply discussed. It was revealed that the layered structures had a much better SME than that of blend because the totally continuous phase and two-dimensional interfaces maximally promoted stress transferring and load distribution. Moreover, a spiral-like stent made of sandwich sample with the best SME showed excellent self-expanding performance in 37 °C water bath, providing a great support within the ureter mimicked by silicone tube. Besides, the cytocompatibility testing results evidenced the good biocompatibility of sandwich sample, further demonstrating the great potential of the prepared material for development of biomedical applications such as the ureter stent.","PeriodicalId":21656,"journal":{"name":"Smart Materials and Structures","volume":"34 7","pages":"075028-075028"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147912952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"3D printed CNT/TPU triboelectric nanogenerator for load monitoring of total knee replacement.","authors":"Osama Abdalla, Mahmood Chahari, Milad Azami, Amir Ameli, Emre Salman, Milutin Stanacevic, Ryan Willing, Shahrzad Towfighian","doi":"10.1088/1361-665X/ade1ba","DOIUrl":"10.1088/1361-665X/ade1ba","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study presents the development and characterization of a novel triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) designed as a self-powered sensor for load monitoring in total knee replacement (TKR) implants. The triboelectric layers comprise a 3D-printed thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrix with carbon nanotube (CNT) nanoparticles and kapton tape, sandwiched between two copper electrodes. To optimize sensor performance, the proposed CNT/TPU TENG sensor is fabricated with varying CNT concentrations and thicknesses, enabling a comprehensive analysis of how material composition and structural parameters influence energy harvesting efficiency. The 1% CNT/TPU composite demonstrates the highest power output among the tested samples. The solid CNT/TPU-based TENG generated the apparent output power of 4.1 <i>µ</i>W under a cyclic compressive load of 2100 N, measured across a 1.6 GΩ load resistance and over a nominal contact area of 15.9 cm², while the foam CNT/TPU film achieved a higher apparent output power of 6.9 <i>µ</i>W measured across a 0.9 GΩ load resistance with the same nominal area. The generated power is sufficient to operate a power management and ADC circuit based on our earlier work. The sensors exhibit a stable open-circuit voltage of 320 V for the foam layer and 275 V for the solid one. Sensitivities are 80.50 mV N^-1 ( <math><mrow><mtext>⩽</mtext> <mstyle></mstyle> <mn>1600</mn></mrow> </math>  N) and 24.60 mV N^-1 (> 1600 N) for foam CNT/TPU film, demonstrating the integrated sensor capability for wide-range force sensing on TKR implants. The foam CNT/TPU-based TENG maintained stable performance over 16 000 load cycles, confirming its potential for long-term use inside the TKR. Additionally, the dielectric constant of the CNT/TPU composite was found to increase with increasing CNT concentration. The proposed CNT/TPU TENG sensor offers a broad working range and robust energy-harvesting efficiency, making it appropriate for self-powered load sensing in biomedical applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":21656,"journal":{"name":"Smart Materials and Structures","volume":"34 6","pages":"065030"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12177930/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144476562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Magnetic-responsive shape memory performance of 4D-printed acoustic metamaterials","authors":"Bin Xue, Shu Huang, H. Y. Zhang, Youqing Zhang, Zhengqi Qian, Jie Sheng, Junhui Zhang, Emmanuel Agyenim-Boateng, Ming‐Liang Zhu","doi":"10.1088/1361-665x/adc11b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/adc11b","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In order to address the limitations of traditional acoustic metamaterials in sound absorption selectivity as well as their inadequate flexibility and adaptability for noise reduction, a honeycomb-thin-film acoustic absorbing metamaterial was developed in this study via 4D printing. By incorporating soft magnetic particles, the structure was enabled to obtain a remote magnetic response, thereby facilitating adaptive sound absorption capabilities. The mechanical properties, shape memory characteristics, and sound absorption performance of both the matrix material and the printed structure were independently evaluated and analyzed. The results indicated that the shape memory polymer containing 10 wt% Fe 3 O 4 exhibited exceptional properties, with a shape fixation rate of 100%, and a shape recovery rate of 97%; the honeycomb-thin-film structure could revert to its original shape within 120 s. The tuning ranges for the two absorption frequencies (sound insulation and sound absorption) were determined to be 68 Hz and 53 Hz, respectively. This study introduces a novel approach to the development of smart acoustic materials with adaptive sound absorption properties.","PeriodicalId":21656,"journal":{"name":"Smart Materials and Structures","volume":"34 3","pages":"035063-035063"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147911506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A novel dielectric elastomer with low modulus and fast response","authors":"Qinqin Wang, Changgeng Shuai, Xue Yang, Weibin Wu, Gang Lu","doi":"10.1088/1361-665x/ada8ed","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/ada8ed","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Dielectric elastomers (DEs) are highly valued in massive fields of actuators and sensors due to their unique advantages of large actuation strain, fast response speed, high energy density and excellent elasticity. The challenge of balancing the elastic modulus, actuation strain and response speed of DE actuators to stably enhance the actuation performance remains a major issue. In this work, a novel DE was prepared by employing polyurethane acrylate (CN9021) as a crosslinker, n-butyl acrylate as a base monomer and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2-EHA) as a functional flexible monomer via a UV curing method. The swelling test indicates a reduction of crosslinking density with the increment of 2-EHA concentration in EHA films. As a consequence, the elastic modulus displays a notable decline while the dielectric constant slightly rises, leading to an enhancement of the actuation sensitivity. More specifically, the elastic modulus of our fabricated EHA-1 is only one-third of the commercial VHB-4910. The developed DEs achieve an actuation strain of nearly 150% with low viscoelasticity and mechanical loss resulting in high response speed and broad operating frequency range to the input dynamic voltages. All these actuation performances are superior to VHB-4910. This work provides a promising strategy for developing DEs with balanced performance and superior actuation characteristics.","PeriodicalId":21656,"journal":{"name":"Smart Materials and Structures","volume":"34 2","pages":"025032-025032"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147884899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}