| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/M72500/01 |
| Title: |
A NEW FAMILY OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL SMART SYSTEMS BASED ON LIQUID CRYSTAL NETWORKS |
| Principal Investigator: |
Mitchell, Professor GR |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Physics |
| Organisation: |
University of Reading |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 October 1999 |
Ends: |
30 June 2003 |
Value (£): |
274,698
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Manufacturing |
Chemicals |
| Electronics |
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| Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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This programme seeks to widen the range of SMART materials available to engineers through the development of a new class of soft multifunctional materials based on liquid crystal networks through a multidisciplinary approach. These materials will exhibit large scale reversible actuator functionality and will be responsive to temperature, light, stress, electric current and electric fields. By developing hybrid systems containing conductive molecular networks, these materials will provide mechanisms for feedback. We will design and develop new thermoplastic elastomers based on liquid crystal networks which will have similar or enhanced actuator properties but which will also be self-healing and reformable. The programme will focus on the actuator functionality. In addition these novel materials will exhibit controllable mechanical and optical properties as well as others such permeability. The presence of several structural scales may make these new soft materials suitable for SMART damping surfaces. We will explore the potential for exploitation of these materials using both in-house collaborations with engineers and cyberneticists and external organisations. The soft nature and the large scale actuator functionality results in a broad range of applications such as artificial muscles, robotic hands, lightweight reactive optics and active acoustic damping systems.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.rdg.ac.uk |