Open-source experimental setup for investigating the actuation behavior of active textiles

This paper presents an open-source and low-cost characterization device designed to investigate the behavior of active textiles, which are textiles having the ability to actuate (produce motion/force) and or act as a sensor. Although specifically designed for active textiles, the characterization device is broadly applicable for studying the performance of actuators including but not limited to Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wires, SMA springs, and electroactive polymers. The characterization device may be operated in several modes that enable a wide variety of experimental protocols to be automated. These modes include but are not limited to automatic displacement and displacement rate mode, automatic force mode, and manual displacement mode. For active textiles that actuate by electrical stimulus or by resistive heating, the electronic system has five independent motor drivers. For each driver, the voltage drop across its outputs and current are measured, enabling the measurement of textile power consumption and other electrical properties. The validation of the Active Textile Characterization Device uses a contractile SMA knitted textile actuated by four motor drivers through resistive heating. Several protocols were successfully conducted to demonstrate the experimental flexibility of the system. During these experiments, knit length, knit tension, current through the knit, voltage drop across the knit, and room temperature were measured with respect to time.

Title	Open-source experimental setup for investigating the actuation behavior of active textiles
Creator	Eschen, K.
	Marbaker, R.
	Utter, Brent
	Abel, J.
Publisher	HardwareX
Academic Department	Mechanical Engineering
Division	Engineering
Organization	Lafayette College
Date Issued	October 2019
Date Available	2020-01-28
Type	Article
Language	English
Keyword	Actuators
	Shape memory alloy
	Materials characterization
	Open-source hardware
	Active knitted textiles
Bibliographic Citation	Utter, B., et al (2019 Oct) "Open-source experimental setup for investigating the actuation behavior of active textiles." HardwareX 6: e00083.
Standard Identifier	DOI 10.1016/j.ohx.2019.e00083
Standard Identifier	Handle 10385/f4752h29j
Permalink	http://hdl.handle.net/10385/f4752h29j
Rights Statement	Creative Commons - Attribution
Rights Holders	Eschen, K.
	Marbaker, R.
	Utter, Brent
	Abel, J.