Controlled Shape-morphing of Elastic Sheets by Chemically-driven Fluid Flow

ORAL

Abstract

Shape-morphing of two-dimensional (2D) materials into complex three-dimensional (3D) structures provides a wide range of applications from wearable electronics to soft robotics. Convective flows generated by the appropriate chemical reactions provide a mechanism for shape transformation of elastic 2D materials submerged in a flow environment. Here, using a computational model that incorporates interrelated chemical, hydrodynamic and mechanical interactions, we demonstrate how a (2D) enzyme-coated elastic sheet can spontaneously morph into 3D structures in response to specific chemical stimuli introduced in the fluid-filled microchamber. We outline design principles for creating a multi-responsive elastic sheet that self-morphs into different 3D structures. We further develop a theoretical model based on lubrication theory for thin liquid films coupled to the deformations of an elastic sheet that rationalizes our simulation observations and provides insights into the initial dynamics of the transformation of elastic sheets within the microfluidic system.

*The work was supported by NSF Grant 1740630, Centers for Chemical Innovation Phase I, Center for Chemo- mechanical Assembly and computational facilities at the Center for Research Computing at the University of Pittsburgh.

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Presenters

  • Raj Kumar Manna

    • 1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh

Authors

  • Raj Kumar Manna

    • 1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh

  • Oleg Shklyaev

    • Univ of Pittsburgh
    • 1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh

  • Howard A Stone

    • Princeton University
    • Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University

  • Anna Balazs

    • Univ of Pittsburgh
    • 1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh