Chemomechanical transformations of gels: artificial muscles and chemomechanical actuators

¹ Laboratoire de Physicochimie des Matériaux Organiques, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Génie Chimique, Toulouse
² Laboratoire d’Ingénierie du Traitement et de l’Epuration des Eaux, Département de Génie des Procédés Industriels, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées, Complexe Scientifique de Rangueil, Toulouse
³ Laboratoire d’Etude des Systèmes Informatiques et Automatiques - G.A.R.I., Département de Génie Electrique, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées, Complexe Scientifique de Rangueil, Toulouse

Abstract

Chemomechanical transformations are used to produce a mechanical force from a reversible chemical reaction for the purpose of generating artificial muscle contractility, on the model of biological muscle. We try to specify this notion of artificial muscle and to show how chemomechanical transformations can lead to such devices. The design and experimentation of an original artificial muscle using ion exchange polymer or polymeric gel reacting inside a soft envelope, derived from research on pneumatic artificial McKibben muscle, is presented. The possibility of a chemomechanical actuator by setting in antagonism two artificial muscles is briefly analysed.