Home > Press > Fabrication of a Miniature Paper-Based Electroosmotic Actuator
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Abstract:
Deepa Sritharan and Elisabeth Smela
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Abstract : A voltage-controlled hydraulic actuator is presented that employs electroosmotic fluid flow (EOF) in paper microchannels within an elastomeric structure. The microfluidic device was fabricated using a new benchtop lamination process. Flexible embedded electrodes were formed from a conductive carbon-silicone composite. The pores in the layer of paper placed between the electrodes served as the microchannels for EOF, and the pumping fluid was propylene carbonate. A sealed fluid-filled chamber was formed by film-casting silicone to lay an actuating membrane over the pumping liquid. Hydraulic force generated by EOF caused the membrane to bulge by hundreds of micrometers within fractions of a second. Potential applications of these actuators include soft robots and biomedical devices.
For more information:
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym8110400
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For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Martha J. Heil
Science Communicator, Maryland NanoCenter
301-405-0876 (office)
626-354-5613 (cell)
office: 1118 Kim Engineering Building
mail: Mailroom, A.V. Williams Building, 8223 Paint Branch Dr.
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Copyright © University of Maryland
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