Progress in Mechanical Modeling of Implantable Flexible Neural Probes

Implanted neural probes can detect weak discharges of neurons in the brain by piercing soft brain tissue,thus as important tools for brain science research,as well as diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases.However,the rigid neural probes,such as Utah arrays,Michigan probes,and metal microfilament electrodes,are mechanically unmatched with brain tissue and are prone to rejection and glial scarring after implantation,which leads to a significant degradation in the signal quality with the implantation time.In recent years,flexible neural electrodes are rapidly developed with less damage to biological tissues,excellent biocompatibility,and mechanical compliance to alleviate scarring.Among them,the mechanical modeling is important for the optimization of the structure and the implantation process.In this review,the theoretical calculation of the flexible neural probes is firstly summarized with the processes of buckling,insertion,and relative interaction with soft brain tissue for flexible probes from outside to inside.Then,the corresponding mechanical simulation methods are organized considering multiple impact factors to realize minimally invasive implantation.Finally,the technical difficulties and future trends of mechanical modeling are discussed for the next-generation flexible neural probes,which is critical to realize low-invasiveness and long-term coexistence in vivo.

Emerging Flexible Thermally Conductive Films:Mechanism,Fabrication,Application

Effective thermal management is quite urgent for electronics owing to their ever-growing integration degree,operation frequency and power density,and the main strategy of thermal management is to remove excess energy from electronics to outside by thermal conductive materials.Compared to the conventional thermal management materials,flexible thermally conductive films with high in-plane thermal conductivity,as emerging candidates,have aroused greater interest in the last decade,which show great potential in thermal management applications of next-generation devices.However,a comprehensive review of flexible thermally conductive films is rarely reported.Thus,we review recent advances of both intrinsic polymer films and polymer-based composite films with ultrahigh in-plane thermal conductivity,with deep understandings of heat transfer mechanism,processing methods to enhance thermal conductivity,optimization strategies to reduce interface thermal resistance and their potential applications.Lastly,challenges and opportunities for the future development of flexible thermally conductive films are also discussed.

ON THE DYNAMIC MODELING AND CONTROL OF 2-DOF PLANAR PARALLEL MECHANISM WITH FLEXIBLE LINKS

The object of study is about dynamic modeling and control for a 2degree-of-freedom (DOF) planar parallel mechanism (PM) with flexible links. The kinematic anddynamic equations are established according to the characteristics of mixed rigid and flexiblestructure. By using the singular perturbation approach (SPA), the model of the mechanism can beseparated into slow and fast subsystems. Based on the feedback linearization theory and inputshaping technique, the large scale rigid motion controller and the flexible link vibrationcontroller can be designed separately to achieve fast and accurate positioning of the PM.

A novel variable topology design for a multi-flexible ejection mechanism

The airborne missile launch mechanism often subjects to significant deformations induced by the large ejection force during high-speed actuations in missile ejection process,leading to a substantial deviation of separation parameters from designed values that threats safety of the carrier.This study proposes a novel variable topology design for launch mechanism,achieved via a Prsmatic-Revolute-Revolute pair(PR-R)motion formed by the structural gap with a specific direction.It enables launch mechanism variability during missile ejection process and optimizes the ejection force given by the front and back ejection arms,and greatly optimizes the separation parameters during missile ejection.The kinetics simulation analysis is conducted under working conditions of the original ejection mechanism and the novel mechanism with variable topology design,respectively.The results show that the novel variable topology design is more befitting for the launch process in terms of system safety and controllability,effectively improving the separation posture,restraining the flexible effect of the mechanism,and fulfilling the effectiveness of the design value of multi-rigid body.

Experimental Study on Mechanism and Shape Characteristics of Suspended Flexible Dam

Hydraulic structures such as groin, longitudinal dike and seawall are common in water conservancy and water transportation engineering projects at home and abroad, which have long been dominated by solid mass structural form. With brush and stone as building materials, this kind of structure has an obvious engineering effect. However, it not only requires huge capital investments, but also has negative impacts on the ecological environment. The suspended flexible dam is an innovative engineering measure, and few theoretical and experimental researches of this type dam can be found at present. This paper studies the mechanism and shape characteristics of this dam and obtains the dynamic equilibrium equation of flexible dam, the float buoyancy expression, and the condition for transformation among three forms of the underwater shape of the dam. The results are valuable in engineering application and can be used as the reference for the future work due to the distinctive design philosophy, the small negative effects on environment and the consistency for sustainable development.

Mechanical Behavior and Failure Mechanism of Recycled Semi-flexible Pavement Material

The mechanical behavior and failure mechanism of recycled semi-flexible pavement material were investigated by different scales method. The macroscopic mechanical behavior of samples was studied by static and dynamic splitting tensile tests on mechanics testing system(MTS). The mechanical analysis in micro scale was carried out by material image analysis method and finite element analysis system. The strains of recycled semi-flexible pavement material on samples surface and in each phase materials were obtained. The test results reveal that the performance of recovered asphalt binder was the major determinant on the structural stability of recycled semi-flexible pavement material. The asphalt binder with high viscoelasticity could delay the initial cracking time and reduce the residual strain under cyclic loading conditions. The failure possibility order of each phase in recycled semi-flexible pavement material was asphalt binder, reclaimed aggregate, cement paste and virgin aggregate.

Research on Rigid-flexible Coupling Dynamics of Flexible Cone-probe Docking Mechanism

In this paper,a new kind of flexible cone composed of the thin-walled plates based on space probecone docking mechanism for small-sized spacecraft is presented.The theoretical model of docking impact dynamics,which takes into account the additional stiffness terms,is derived based on Lagrange Analytical Mechanics theory and Hertz contact theory.Finite element method is employed for the discretization of the thin-walled plate.The results show that the traditional dynamic model without considering the additional stiffness terms will be difficult to reach steady state.The method proposed in this paper can correctly predict the dynamic behavior of the system.

Machine Learning‑Enhanced Flexible Mechanical Sensing

To realize a hyperconnected smart society with high productivity,advances in flexible sensing technology are highly needed.Nowadays,flexible sensing technology has witnessed improvements in both the hardware performances of sensor devices and the data processing capabilities of the device’s software.Significant research efforts have been devoted to improving materials,sensing mechanism,and configurations of flexible sensing systems in a quest to fulfill the requirements of future technology.Meanwhile,advanced data analysis methods are being developed to extract useful information from increasingly complicated data collected by a single sensor or network of sensors.Machine learning(ML)as an important branch of artificial intelligence can efficiently handle such complex data,which can be multi-dimensional and multi-faceted,thus providing a powerful tool for easy interpretation of sensing data.In this review,the fundamental working mechanisms and common types of flexible mechanical sensors are firstly presented.Then how ML-assisted data interpretation improves the applications of flexible mechanical sensors and other closely-related sensors in various areas is elaborated,which includes health monitoring,human-machine interfaces,object/surface recognition,pressure prediction,and human posture/motion identification.Finally,the advantages,challenges,and future perspectives associated with the fusion of flexible mechanical sensing technology and ML algorithms are discussed.These will give significant insights to enable the advancement of next-generation artificial flexible mechanical sensing.

Mechano-electrochemical perspectives on flexible lithium-ion batteries

With the advent of flexible/wearable electronic devices,flexible lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)have attracted significant attention as optimal power source candidates.Flexible LIBs with good flexibility,mechanical stability,and high energy density are still an enormous challenge.In recent years,many complex and diverse design methods for flexible LIBs have been reported.The design and evaluation of ideal flexible LIBs must take into consideration both mechanical and electrochemical factors.In this review,the recent progress and challenges of flexible LIBs are reviewed from a mechano-electrochemical perspective.The recent progress in flexible LIB design is addressed concerning flexible material and configuration design.The mechanical and electrochemical evaluations of flexible LIBs are also summarized.Furthermore,mechano-electrochemical perspectives for the future direction of flexible LIBs are also discussed.Finally,the relationship between mechanical loading and the electrode process is analyzed from a mechano-electrochemical perspective.The evaluation of flexible LIBs should be based on mechano-electrochemical processes.Reviews and perspectives are of great significance to the design and practicality of flexible LIBs,which is contributed to bridging the gap between laboratory exploration and practical applications.

Flexible perovskite light-emitting diodes for display applications and beyond

The flexible perovskite light-emitting diodes(FPeLEDs),which can be expediently integrated to portable and wearable devices,have shown great potential in various applications.The FPeLEDs inherit the unique optical properties of metal halide perovskites,such as tunable bandgap,narrow emission linewidth,high photoluminescence quantum yield,and particularly,the soft nature of lattice.At present,substantial efforts have been made for FPeLEDs with encouraging external quantum efficiency(EQE)of 24.5%.Herein,we summarize the recent progress in FPeLEDs,focusing on the strategy developed for perovskite emission layers and flexible electrodes to facilitate the optoelectrical and mechanical performance.In addition,we present relevant applications of FPeLEDs in displays and beyond.Finally,perspective toward the future development and applications of flexible PeLEDs are also discussed.

Effects of Flexible Conjugation-Break Spacers of Non-Conjugated Polymer Acceptors on Photovoltaic and Mechanical Properties of All-Polymer Solar Cells

All-polymer solar cells(all-PSCs)possess attractive merits including superior thermal stability and mechanical flexibility for large-area roll-to-roll processing.Introducing flexible conjugation-break spacers(FCBSs)into backbones of polymer donor(P_(D))or polymer acceptor(P_(A))has been demonstrated as an efficient approach to enhance both the photovoltaic(PV)and mechanical properties of the all-PSCs.However,length dependency of FCBS on certain all-PSC related properties has not been systematically explored.In this regard,we report a series of new non-conjugated P_(A)s by incorporating FCBS with various lengths(2,4,and 8 carbon atoms in thioalkyl segments).Unlike com-mon studies on so-called side-chain engineering,where longer side chains would lead to better solubility of those resulting polymers,in this work,we observe that the solubilities and the resulting photovoltaic/mechanical properties are optimized by a proper FCBS length(i.e.,C2)in P_(A) named PYTS-C2.Its all-PSC achieves a high efficiency of 11.37%,and excellent mechanical robustness with a crack onset strain of 12.39%,significantly superior to those of the other P_(A)s.These results firstly demonstrate the effects of FCBS lengths on the PV performance and mechanical properties of the all-PSCs,providing an effective strategy to fine-tune the structures of P_(A)s for highly efficient and mechanically robust PSCs.

Effect of Thermal Crosslink Conditions on Dynamic Mechanical Behaviors of Flexible Epoxy

The dynamic mechanical behavior of a new kind of flexible epoxy FE-1,which was crosslinked under four different thermal crosslink conditions,was studied.Dynamic mechanical measurement was carried out from 10 ℃ to 120 ℃,and loss factor,tan δ and the storagemodulus as functions of temperature were presented under five different frequencies of 0.1 Hz, 1 Hz,5 Hz,50 Hz and 100 Hz. The experimental results show that temperature has dramatic effects on the dynamic mechanical behavior of flexible epoxy. Compared with other common available epoxy, the flexible epoxy has higher loss factor over broad frequency and common temperature range. Activation energy corresponding to glass transition process of FE-1 was calculated from the temperature corresponding to tan 8 rna~ values, obtained at different measurement frequencies. The maximum value of loss factor is 0.75 and the Tg varies from 6 ℃ to 50 ℃, indicating the flexible epoxy can be used as damping polymer materials at common temperature or frequency range.

Flexible Load Participation in Peaking Shaving and Valley Filling Based on Dynamic Price Incentives

Considering the widening of the peak-valley difference in the power grid and the difficulty of the existing fixed time-of-use electricity price mechanism in meeting the energy demand of heterogeneous users at various moments or motivating users,the design of a reasonable dynamic pricing mechanism to actively engage users in demand response becomes imperative for power grid companies.For this purpose,a power grid-flexible load bilevel model is constructed based on dynamic pricing,where the leader is the dispatching center and the lower-level flexible load acts as the follower.Initially,an upper-level day-ahead dispatching model for the power grid is established,considering the lowest power grid dispatching cost as the objective function and incorporating the power grid-side constraints.Then,the lower level comprehensively considers the load characteristics of industrial load,energy storage,and data centers,and then establishes a lower-level flexible load operation model with the lowest user power-consuming cost as the objective function.Finally,the proposed method is validated using the IEEE-118 system,and the findings indicate that the dynamic pricing mechanism for peaking shaving and valley filling can effectively guide users to respond actively,thereby reducing the peak-valley difference and decreasing users’purchasing costs.

Mechanically strong,flexible,and multi-responsive phase change films with a nacre-mimetic structure for wearable thermal management

Phase change materials(PCMs)are a highly promising candidate for thermal energy storage owing to their large latent heat and chemical stability.However,their intrinsic brittle induces poor flexibility and low mechanical strength,which limits them use for wearable thermal management.And,the electrical insulation and weak solar absorption make them lack multi-responsive capability.Herein,we report a facile strategy to synthesize mechanically strong and flexible multi-responsive phase change films by stirring an aqueous dispersion of cellulose nanofibrils(CNFs),MXene(Ti_(2)C_(3))nanosheets,and polyethylene glycol(PEG),followed by air-drying self-assembly and coating with hydrophobic fluorocarbon.The hydrogen bonds and nacre-mimetic synergistic toughening networks formed by ternary CNFs,Ti_(2)C_(3)nanosheets,and PEG endow films with high mechanical strength(16.7 MPa)and strain(10.4%),which are 18.6 and 8.7 times higher than those of pure PEG film,respectively.The films exhibit outstanding flexibility and do not crack or fracture even when bent,twisted,and folded into a complex small boat.Meanwhile,the laminar structure formed by the self-assembly Ti_(3)C_(2)nanosheets enhances electrical conductivity(3.95 S/m)and solar absorption,affording excellent electro-thermal(68.3%–81.0%)and solarthermal(85.6%–90.6%)conversion efficiency,thus achieving multi-response to external stimuli(electron/solar radiation).In addition,the as-prepared films also deliver large latent heat(136.1 J/g),outstanding cyclic and shape stability,leak-free encapsulation even under compressed at above 5000 times its weight,excellent hydrophobicity(131.4°),and self-cleaning function.This work paves the way for developing flexible,mechanically strong,and self-cleaning phase change film with multi-responsive function for wearable thermal management devices under high humidity condition.

Highly Flexible and Broad‑Range Mechanically Tunable All‑Wood Hydrogels with Nanoscale Channels via the Hofmeister Effect for Human Motion Monitoring

Wood-based hydrogel with a unique anisotropic structure is an attractive soft material,but the presence of rigid crystalline cellulose in natural wood makes the hydrogel less flexible.In this study,an all-wood hydrogel was constructed by cross-linking cellulose fibers,polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)chains,and lignin molecules through the Hofmeister effect.The all-wood hydrogel shows a high tensile strength of 36.5 MPa and a strain up to~438%in the longitudinal direction,which is much higher than its tensile strength(~2.6 MPa)and strain(~198%)in the radial direction,respectively.The high mechanical strength of all-wood hydrogels is mainly attributed to the strong hydrogen bonding,physical entanglement,and van der Waals forces between lignin molecules,cellulose nanofibers,and PVA chains.Thanks to its excellent flexibility,good conductivity,and sensitivity,the all-wood hydrogel can accurately distinguish diverse macroscale or subtle human movements,including finger flexion,pulse,and swallowing behavior.In particular,when“An Qi”was called four times within 15 s,two variations of the pronunciation could be identified.With recyclable,biodegradable,and adjustable mechanical properties,the all-wood hydrogel is a multifunctional soft material with promising applications,such as human motion monitoring,tissue engineering,and robotics materials.

An aqueous BiI_(3)-Zn battery with dual mechanisms of Zn^(2+)(de)intercalation and I^(-)/I_(2)redox

The development of aqueous battery with dual mechanisms is now arousing more and more interest.The dual mechanisms of Zn^(2+)(de)intercalation and I^(-)/I_(2)redox bring unexpected effects.Herein,differing from previous studies using Zn I_(2)additive,this work designs an aqueous Bi I_(3)-Zn battery with selfsupplied I^(-).Ex situ tests reveal the conversion of Bi I_(3)into Bi(discharge)and Bi OI(charge)at the 1st cycle and the dissolved I^(-)in electrolyte.The active I^(-)species enhances the specific capacity and discharge medium voltage of electrode as well as improves the generation of Zn dendrite and by-product.Furthermore,the porous hard carbon is introduced to enhance the electronic/ionic conductivity and adsorb iodine species,proven by experimental and theoretical studies.Accordingly,the well-designed Bi I_(3)-Zn battery delivers a high reversible capacity of 182 m A h g^(-1)at 0.2 A g^(-1),an excellent rate capability with 88 m A h g^(-1)at 10 A g^(-1),and an impressive cyclability with 63%capacity retention over 20 K cycles at 10 A g^(-1).An excellent electrochemical performance is obtained even at a high mass loading of 6 mg cm^(-2).Moreover,a flexible quasi-solid-state Bi I_(3)-Zn battery exhibits satisfactory battery performances.This work provides a new idea for designing high-performance aqueous battery with dual mechanisms.

Theoretical Investigation of Influence of Mechanical Stress on Magnetic Properties of Ferromagnetic/Antiferromagnetic Bilayers Deposited on Flexible Substrates

Effect of mechanical stress on magnetic properties of an exchange-biased ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic bilayer deposited on a flexible substrate is investigated. The hysteresis loops with different magnitudes and orientations of the stress can be classified into three types. The corresponding physical conditions for each type of the loop are deduced based on the principle of minimal energy. The equation of the critical stress is derived, which can judge whether the loops show hysteresis or not. Numerical calculations suggest that except for the magnitude of the mechanical stress, the relative orientation of the stress is also an important factor to tune the exchange bias effect.

Axial mechanical experiments of unbonded flexible pipes

Axial structural damping behavior induced by internal friction and viscoelastic properties of polymeric layers may have an inevitable influence on the global analysis of flexible pipes.In order to characterize this phenomenon and axial mechanical responses,a full-scale axial tensile experiment on a complex flexible pipe is conducted at room temperature,in which oscillation forces at different frequencies are applied on the sample.The parameters to be identified are axial strains which are measured by three kinds of instrumentations:linear variable differential transformer,strain gauge and camera united particle-tracking technology.The corresponding plots of axial force versus axial elongation exhibit obvious nonlinear hysteretic relationship.Consequently,the loss factor related to the axial structural damping behavior is found,which increases as the oscillation loading frequency grows.The axial strains from the three measurement systems in the mechanical experiment indicate good agreement,as well as the values of the equivalent axial stiffness.The damping generated by polymeric layers is relatively smaller than that caused by friction forces.Therefore,it can be concluded that friction forces maybe dominate the axial structural damping,especially on the conditions of high frequency.

Interface Mechanical Behavior of Flexible Piles Under Lateral Loads in OWT Systems

This paper investigates the interface mechanical behavior of flexible piles with L_p/D>10 under lateral load and an overturning moment in monotonic loading conditions.To modify the beam-on-Winkler-foundation model of piles in offshore wind farms,the energy-based variational method is used.The soil is treated as a multi-layered elastic continuum with the assumption of three-dimensional displacements,the pile modeled as an Euler-Bernoulli beam.A series of cases using MATLAB programming was conducted to investigate the simplified equations of initial stiffness.The results indicated that the interaction between soil layers and the applied force position should be taken into account in calculating the horizontal soil resistance.Additionally,the distributed moment had a limiting effect on the lateral capacity of a flexible pile.Moreover,to account for the more realistic conditions of OWT systems,field data from the Donghai Bridge offshore wind farm were used.

The Effect of Curative Concentration on Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Flexible Epoxy Coated Jute Fabric Reinforced Polyamide 6 Composites

Many researchers have shown interest in the reinforcement of commodity thermoplastic with natural fibers. However, the drawback of natural fibers is their low thermal processing temperatures, that border around 200℃. In this investigation, we tried to improve the thermal stability of natural fibers with the use of flexible epoxy surface coating that could facilitate processing with engineering thermoplastics. Jute fabric and Polyamide 6 (PA6) composites were prepared by compression molding. The thermal decomposition characteristics of the jute fabric were evaluated by using thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). Mechanical analysis was conducted to evaluate tensile test and three point bending test of composite. It was found that thermal degradation resistance of jute fabric was improved by coating with flexible epoxy resin. Moreover, the flexural modulus improved with increasing curative concentration. The interfacial interaction between the epoxy and PA6 was clearly indicated by the photo micrographs of the polished cross sections of the coated and uncoated jute fabric/PA6 composites.