Successfully manufactured artificial muscles from super cheap plastic fibers

An international team of scientists has successfully created an artificial muscle made from super cheap plastic fibers.

Illustration photo. (Source: sites.google.com)

According to research results published in the American Science magazine on February 20, the material that scientists used to create artificial muscles is polymer fiber - a super-durable chemical fiber with a diameter 10 times that of a hair, widely used in the garment industry and for making fishing lines.

With this material, the cost of producing artificial muscles is greatly reduced compared to a muscle made from nickel and titanium alloy today. Artificial muscles made from plastic fibers cost only 5 USD/kg compared to the price of 3,000 USD/kg for muscles made from alloy.

Made using a method that has been successfully applied by scientists, which is to twist the fibers like braiding rope, the artificial muscle from plastic fibers performs the same function and has the same strength as alloy muscles.

According to scientists, muscles made from plastic fibers can lift an object weighing about 7.3 kg, while a set of hundreds of artificial muscles made from these fibers can lift up to 800 kg.

This newly created muscle can contract about 50% of its length, while a human muscle can only contract 20%. Artificial muscles can be used as new generation motors for robotic arms, parts of airplane wings, medical devices...

Previously, world scientists have also successfully created artificial muscles from carbon nanofibers using the rope twisting method.

This new invention was researched and developed by scientists from the University of Texas (USA) in collaboration with research institutes from countries such as China, Canada, Türkiye, Australia and South Korea./.

According to VNA