Abstract:

At present， most of the liquid crystal elastomer （LCE） soft actuators are relatively simple in topological structures and deformation modes， which seriously hinder the applications potentials in real complex scenarios. Combining the unique material properties of LCE materials and the interesting topological structure of the twisted toroidal ribbon， a series of photothermal-responsive LCE-based twisted toroidal ribbon soft actuators was reported. These actuators can perform stable and continuous motion under the irradiation of near-infrared （NIR） light. Based on these experimental results， we established a finite element analysis model based on B-M-bius［+2］ actuator. By setting and adjusting the parameters of the twisted toroidal ribbon actuators， including temperature distribution， gravity center， thermal stress， angular displacement， angular velocity and angular acceleration， the stress and motion modes of the twisted toroidal ribbon actuators under NIR light were successfully simulated. The simulation results are in accord with the actual motion of the twisted toroidal ribbon actuators manufactured in the laboratory. The model can provide a theoretical basis approach for future experiments and applications of such complexicated topologiescal actuators， and help to further expand and broaden the application scope and the application range of twisted toroidal ribbon actuators.

Key words: Liquid crystal elastomer, Twisted toroidal ribbon, Soft actuator, Finite element analysis