Creating temperature stimulated paper muscles by printing and lamination

Abstract: A paper that shows motion when being exposed to heat has in this study been called a paper muscle. A paper muscle can be used for many different applications, e.g. smart advertisement or indicators in printed paper products. The muscles created in the present work were prepared by gluing or printing a polymer layer onto paper. The polymer layers consisted of MELINEX, MYLAR or toner, which are known to expand when exposed to heat. Furthermore, all three material systems showed bending when exposed to heat. A mechanical bilayer model was implemented and used to quantitatively study the parameters that influence the bending of the muscles. The model indicated that the dimensional changes of the polymer layers relative to that of the copy paper was found to be approximately 0,1-0,5 % within the temperature range 23-60 °C. The experiments showed that the combined dimensional changes within the polymer and paper layers were not linear with respect to temperature, and that there was a significant difference in bending for muscles cut in the MD and in the CD. Also, when assuming that the polymer is the active component, the observed coefficient of thermal expansion was a factor ~10 greater compared to published literature data. These findings led to the conclusion that it was indeed the dimensional changes within the paper that were the dominant cause of the bending. This was confirmed by a muscle, comprising a bilayer of paper cut in the MD and the CD, which bended when exposed to heat. The results also indicate that a large part of the bending could be attributed to the hygrocontraction of paper.