Optomechanical elastomeric engine.
Nematic elastomers contract along their director when heated or illuminated (in the case of photoelastomers). We present a conceptual design for an elastomer-based engine to extract mechanical work from heat or light. The material parameters and the geometry of such an engine are explored, and it is shown that its efficiency can go up to 20%.
Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom.
Miloš
M
Knežević
Mark
M
Warner