An Internally Heated Shape Memory Polymer Dry Adhesive
Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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Polymers 2014, 6(8), 2274-2286; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym6082274
Received: 2 July 2014 / Revised: 14 August 2014 / Accepted: 14 August 2014 / Published: 22 August 2014
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Shape-Memory Polymers)
A conductive epoxy-based shape memory polymer (SMP) is demonstrated using carbon black (CB) as a dopant for the purpose of creating an SMP dry adhesive system which can internally generate the heat required for activation. The electrical and mechanical properties of the CB/SMP blends for varying dopant concentrations are characterized. A composite adhesive is created to minimize surface contact resistance to conductive tape acting as electrodes, while maintaining bulk resistivity required for heat generation due to current flow. The final adhesive can function on flat or curved surfaces. As a demonstration, a 25 mm wide by 45 mm long dry adhesive strip is shown to heat evenly from an applied voltage, and can easily hold a mass in excess of 6 kg when bonded to a spherical concave glass surface using light pressure at 75 °C.
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Keywords:
shape-memory; dry adhesive; carbon black; epoxy; polymer
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License
MDPI and ACS Style
Eisenhaure, J.; Kim, S. An Internally Heated Shape Memory Polymer Dry Adhesive. Polymers 2014, 6, 2274-2286.
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