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This study presents a modular, electronics‐free, and fully onboard control and actuation approach for shape memory alloy (SMA)‐based soft robots to achieve locomotion tasks. This approach exploits the nonlinear mechanics of compliant curved beams and carefully designed mechanical control circuits to create and synchronize rhythmic deformation cycles, mimicking the central pattern generators prevalent in animal locomotions. More specifically, the study elucidates a new strategy to amplify the actuation performance of the shape memory coil actuator by coupling it to a carefully designed, monostable curve beam with a snap‐through buckling behavior. Such SMA‐curved beam assembly is integrated with an entirely mechanical circuit featuring a slider mechanism. This circuit can automatically cut off and supply current to the SMA according to its deformation status, generating a self‐sustained rhythmic deformation cycle using a simple DC power supply. Finally, this study presents a new strategy to coordinate (synchronize) two rhythmic deformation cycles from two robotic modules to achieve efficient crawling locomotion but still use a single DC power. This work represents a significant step toward fully autonomous, electronics‐free SMA‐based locomotion robots with fully onboard actuation and control. 

Bistable composite laminates have large-scale applications in morphing and energy-harvesting structures, but their fatigue performance remains largely unexplored. This study investigates the stiffness and damage progression and evaluates bistable performance to develop protocols for long-term applications. We analyze the effects of displacement-controlled fully reversible high cycle fatigue-loading on stiffness, damage, curvature, and snap-through load in the out-of-plane loading direction at eight different combinations of parameters with frequency from 1 to 10 Hz, two boundary conditions, and temperature from 22°C to 150°C up to 3 to 10 million cycles. Stiffness and damage evolution analysis demonstrate the first two stages in out-of-plane fatigue loading. The study proposes a damage definition in terms of load adapting with two fatigue damage models: (1) Shiri Model and (2) Wu Model, while both models exhibit reasonable accuracy in predicting damage for the first two stages despite deviating at the final cycle due to assuming this cycle as the final failure cycle. Of the two models, the Shiri model provided a smaller range of model parameter values, 0.22 and 0.43, for parameters p and q, respectively, which reflects adjustability to different test conditions by maintaining a moderate range. Specimens encountered no final failure by fiber breakage and did not lose bistability for any combination. Curvature and snap-through load measurements have not substantially changed due to fatigue loading. These findings confirm application protocols with a broad range of parameters for which the laminates can operate without significant fatigue damage and maintain their bistable performance for an infinite lifetime.

 

Herein, the cognitive capability of a simple, paper‐based Miura‐ori—using the physical reservoir computing framework—is experimentally examined to achieve different information perception tasks. The body dynamics of Miura‐ori (aka its vertices displacements), which is excited by a simple harmonic base excitation, can be exploited as the reservoir computing resource. By recording these dynamics with a high‐resolution camera and image processing program and then using linear regression for training, it is shown that the origami reservoir has sufficient computing capacity to estimate the weight and position of a payload. It can also recognize the input frequency and magnitude patterns. Furthermore, multitasking is achievable by simultaneously applying two targeted functions to the same reservoir state matrix. Therefore, it is demonstrated that Miura‐ori can assess the dynamic interactions between its body and ambient environment to extract meaningful information—an intelligent behavior in the mechanical domain. Given that Miura‐ori has been widely used to construct deployable structures, lightweight materials, and compliant robots, enabling such information perception tasks can add a new dimension to the functionality of such a versatile structure.

 

Origami — the ancient art of paper folding — has been widely adopted as a design and fabrication framework for many engineering applications, including multi-functional structures, deployable spacecraft, and architected materials. These applications typically involve complex and dynamic deformations in the origami facets, necessitating high-fidelity models to better simulate folding-induced mechanics and dynamics. This paper presents the formulation and validation of such a new model based on the Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation (ANCF), which exploits the tessellated nature of origami and describes it as an assembly of flexible panels rotating around springy creases. To estimate the crease folding, we mathematically formulate a “torsional spring connector” in the framework of ANCF and apply it to the crease nodes, where the facets meshed by ANCF plate elements are interconnected. We simulate the dynamic folding of a Miura-ori unit cell and compare the results with commercial finite element software (ABAQUS) to validate the modeling accuracy. The ANCF model can converge using significantly fewer elements than ABAQUS without sacrificing accuracy. Therefore, this high-fidelity model can help deepen our knowledge of folding-induced mechanics and dynamics, broadening the appeals of origami in science and engineering. 

Bistable composite laminates have exhibited enormous potential in morphing and energy harvesting followed by a wide range of application in aerospace, power generation and automobile industries. This study presents the fatigue analysis of bistable laminates in terms of stiffness degradation and loss of bistability. Moisture saturation of the specimens are ensured by keeping them in a controlled laboratory environment for an extended period of time. Mass of the specimens have been measured to quantify the moisture saturation. Fatigue tests are performed at 1 Hz frequency, and R = −1 stress ratio which is the ratio of minimum stress to maximum stress. Specimens are tested for 3 million cycles in displacement control. Load-displacement plot from the test is divided into 5 stiffness regions. A piecewise study of each region has demonstrated good agreement with existing analytical model. Stiffness degradation in 4 regions corresponding to 2 stable configurations follows general trend for composites up to the second stage of damage in three stage damage progression model while the remaining region corresponding to unstable configuration is not considered in this analysis. Test results have been reproduced with minor discrepancy at the specified environmental and loading condition, ply configuration, and size of the laminate. Test protocols, results, and damage analysis presented in this study can be utilized to evaluate the fatigue performance of multistable CFRP structures subjected to higher amplitudes and frequencies.

 

This study investigates the programming of elastic wave propagation bandgaps in periodic and multi‐stable metamaterials by intentionally and uniquely sequencing its constitutive mechanical bits. To this end, stretched kirigami is used as a simple and versatile testing platform. Each mechanical bit in the stretched kirigami can switch between two stable equilibria with different external shapes (aka. “(0)” and “(1)” states). Therefore, by designing the sequence of (0) and (1) bits, one can fundamentally change the underlying periodicity and thus program the phononic bandgap frequencies. This study develops an algorithm to identify the unique periodicities generated by assembling “n‐bit strings” consisting ofnmechanical bits. Based on a simplified geometry of thesen‐bit strings, this study also formulates a theory to uncover the rich mapping between input sequencing and output bandgaps. The theoretical prediction and experiment results confirm that the (0) and (1) bit sequencing is effective for programming the phonic bandgap frequencies. Moreover, one can additionally fine‐tune the bandgaps by adjusting the global stretch. Overall, the results of this study elucidate new strategies for programming the dynamic responses of architected material systems.