Liquid metal motor

Erlong Wang; Jian Shu; Hu Jin; Zhe Tao; Jie Xie; Shi-Yang Tang; Xiangpeng Li; Weihua Li; Michael D Dickey; Shiwu Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2020.101911

Liquid metal motor

iScience. 2020 Dec 8;24(1):101911. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101911. eCollection 2021 Jan 22.

Authors

Erlong Wang¹, Jian Shu¹, Hu Jin¹, Zhe Tao¹, Jie Xie¹, Shi-Yang Tang², Xiangpeng Li^{3

4}, Weihua Li⁵, Michael D Dickey⁶, Shiwu Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
² Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
³ College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215000, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Applied Optics, Changchun Institute of Optics, Changchun 130033, China.
⁵ School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia.
⁶ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.

Abstract

Liquid metal has demonstrated an enormous potential for developing soft functional devices and machines. However, current liquid metal enabled machines suffer from several issues, such as the requirement of a liquid environment, generation of weak actuating forces, and insufficient maneuverability. To overcome these restrictions, here, a motor is developed based on the electrical actuation of liquid metal droplets without the need for conventional electromagnets. The approach is distinguished by (1) the encapsulation of electrolyte and multiple liquid metal droplets within an enclosed system, and (2) the creation of stable and continuous torque outside a liquid environment. In addition, a liquid metal electrical brush is introduced to operate the motor with low friction and low wear. The unique driving mechanism endows the motor with several advantages, including low friction, no sparking, low noise, versatile working environment, and being built from soft materials that could offer new opportunities for developing soft robotics.

Keywords: Electrical Materials; Mechanical Design; Metals.