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An experimental investigation on performance of NiTi-based shape memory alloy 4D printed actuators for bending application

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Abstract

The 4D printing technology is gaining immense attention towards developing actuators, soft robots, and sensors, which use Smart Materials (SMs) for their functioning. One of the forefront applications of the 4D printing technique is building actuators exhibiting high force of actuation, high stability, and repeatability by using a class of shape changeable SMs termed the Shape Memory Alloys (SMA). The present study is an experimental investigation of the performance of compositionally different SMA-based 4D printed actuators built using Ni–Ti, Ni–Ti–Cu, and Ni–Ti–Fe alloys. The evaluation of the performance of the built actuators is carried out through determining the debonding strength of matrix-alloy interface, and the functional capabilities, such as, the force of actuation, residual strain recovery, percentage of displacement reduction. A comparison of both the debonding strength and the functional capabilities for the chosen actuators is carried out, and individual actuators’ parameter-specific possibilities are reported. Also, the results reaped in the present study act as the baseline data to choose a specific actuator for a targeted application.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of sophisticated central instrumentation facility (SCIF), IIT Dharwad, for carrying out all the Mechanical and Material characterizations.

Funding

This research work is supported by the Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, under Start-up Research Grant (SRG) scheme (Project no: SRG/2019/000990), and Technology Translation Award (TETRA) (Project no: TTR/2021/000132).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Dharwad, Dharwad, Karnataka, 580011, India

    Rakshith B. Sreesha, Saiyadali H. Ladakhan, Deepak Mudakavi & Somashekara M Adinarayanappa

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  1. Rakshith B. Sreesha
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  2. Saiyadali H. Ladakhan
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  3. Deepak Mudakavi
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  4. Somashekara M Adinarayanappa
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Contributions

RBS: conceptualization; data curation; formal analysis; investigation; methodology; validation; visualization; roles/writing–original draft; writing–review and editing. SHL: conceptualization; data curation; formal analysis; investigation; methodology; software; validation; roles/writing–original draft; writing–review and editing. DM: data curation; formal analysis; validation; roles/writing–original draft; writing–review and editing. SMA: conceptualization; funding acquisition; project administration; supervision; resources; writing–review and editing.

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Correspondence to Somashekara M Adinarayanappa.

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Sreesha, R.B., Ladakhan, S.H., Mudakavi, D. et al. An experimental investigation on performance of NiTi-based shape memory alloy 4D printed actuators for bending application. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 122, 4421–4436 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-09875-w

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