74th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (November 21, 2021 — November 23, 2021)

V0035: Dynamic shape-morphing of particle rafts

Authors

• Kyungmin Son, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University
• Jeong-Yun Sun, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University
• Ho-Young Kim, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2021.GFM.V0035

The agile, large, and reversible deformation of materials in response to external stimuli promises access to truly useful technologies for soft actuation and architecture. To develop three-dimensional, versatile mechanical morphing systems, we propose a liquid interface coated with particles that morphs in response to spatiotemporally varying electric fields. Our video shows the soft composite interface that has hitherto unknown, dramatic, but agile shape-morphing capabilities under the electric field. The interface is stably driven to upheave, stretch upward, and move horizontally by an electrode or even human fingers, feats that have been impossible by any other morphing technologies. The remarkable shape-morphing capability will make a substantial contribution to the field of soft matter physics, and find versatile applications ranging from soft robotics to three-dimensional human-machine interfaces.