Artificial muscles developed by engineers in the United States and China

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An international team of engineers in the United States and China has developed a powerful artificial muscle capable of generating 40 times more power than a human.

A study published online Thursday in the journal Science, explained that engineers have developed muscle by using a polymer sheath around inexpensive wires.

He described the artificial muscles of the sheath in which the outer sheath absorbed energy and caused the activation of the wires inside.

The previous artificial muscles were formed by twisted wires, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), a fishing line and a nylon wire, to the point of winding up.

According to the study, these twisted wires can contract considerably when they are heated and return to the original conditions when they are cooled.

"In our previous twisted and coiled muscles, we applied thermal energy to all the muscle, but only the outer twisted portion of the fiber performed mechanical work.

The central part did little, said the paper's chief author, Mu Jiuke, of the University of Texas at Dallas.

In addition, it takes a relatively long time to transmit energy to the inner part of the wires, which slows down the response speed of the muscle, "Mu told Xinhua.

Mu said with the sheath, the input energy can be converted into muscle mechanical energy more quickly and efficiently.

As part of the experiment, the researchers twisted the wires while the sheath was still wet, because it will crack after drying.

Researchers from Shanghai Donghua University have also demonstrated a general-purpose application of sheath artificial muscles.

They have knitted them in a textile that increases porosity when exposed to moisture to provide more comfort to wearers.

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