Structural material with designed thermal twist for a simple actuation

Abstract Materials with desired thermal deformation are very important for various engineering applications. Here, a material with the combination of chiral structure and TiNi shape memory alloy (SMA) sheets that performs a twist during heating is proposed. The thermo-mechanical properties of these materials are experimentally investigated. Inspired by this, a car-like material performing translational and rotational motion is designed, which illustrates the potential applications for the next-generation soft robotic devices. Based on this method, one can design remotely manipulated artificial muscles, nanorobots, revolute pairs, and thermal sensors or actuators in a noncontact fashion.