An electroactuation system based on nanofluids

We propose the conceptual design of an electrically controlled actuation system by adjusting the relative hydrophobicity of a nanoporous material/liquid mixture. When the variation in wettability is amplified by the large surface area, a considerable mechanical work is output. The energy density, power density, and efficiency are explored and their variations with pore size, solid phase, and liquid phase are explored. An infiltration experiment on a nanoporous silica system is performed to qualitatively validate these findings. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3597367]The work is supported by NSFC (Grant No. 50928601), World Class University program from Korea NRF (Grant No. R32-2008-000-20042-0), International cooperation project of Tsinghua Univ. (Grant No. 20091081236), Changjiang Scholar Program of China, and NSF (Grant No. CMMI-0643726)