Electroactive twisted ribbon for torsional zipping actuator
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Wenjie, Sun
Liu, Jiayu
Yuejun, Xu
Li, Jiameng
Taghavi, Majid
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Electrostatic soft actuators are known for their high power, rapid response, and accessible control. A variety of operational modalities have been achieved in electrostatic actuators; however, torsional movement remains particularly challenging and has been rarely investigated. This letter employs the dielectrophoretic liquid zipping (DLZ) actuation principle to develop a compliant torsional mechanism. The actuator uses pre-twisted ribbons to achieve torsional deformation with axial contraction when subjected to an electrostatic zipping force. The effects of key parameters, including geometric design, loading constraints, and input voltage, are studied to improve the actuator's performance, including both displacement and force in torsional rotation and axial contraction. By selecting materials such as the length and thickness of the ribbons and controlling the applied voltage, the actuator's behaviour can be tuned for a range of desirable contractions and torsion, maximising one mode of actuation while minimising the other. Additionally, the dynamic response of the actuator under different voltage waveforms and frequencies is investigated. This study extends the design capabilities of electrostatic actuators based on DLZ actuation systems for multi-modal compliant actuation, with potential uses in manipulation and wider robotic applications requiring torsional and axial force.
Date Issued
2025-09-01
Date Acceptance
2025-06-26
Citation
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2025, 10 (9), pp.8834-8841
ISSN
2377-3766
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Start Page
8834
End Page
8841
Journal / Book Title
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
Volume
10
Issue
9
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2025, IEEE. This is the author’s accepted manuscript made available under a CC-BY licence in accordance with Imperial’s Research Publications Open Access policy (www.imperial.ac.uk/oa-policy)
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2025-07-15