Grants and Contributions:

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Title:

A Novel Materials and Additive Manufacturing Platform: Responsive Polymers for Smart Surfaces and Soft Robotics

Agreement Number:

967263

Agreement Value:

$25,000.00

Agreement Date:

Mar 30, 2021 - Sep 30, 2022

Description:

Responsive or smart materials are the next generation materials that have been designed to respond to an external stimulus. A few examples of these responses include shape shifting, crack healing, energy releasing, and stiffness changing. Due to such property, smart materials have a board range of possible application areas. 3D printing (3DP), also known as additive manufacturing revolutionized the manufacturing industry as complex structures can now be fabricated more rapidly and at a lower cost. By integrating the shape shifting material with the 3DP process, a “4D printing” is created as the time domain is now included in the material. Previously, NRC and UofT explored the use of shape-morphing material and developed a smart surface motivated by a need for flow control in an aircraft application. This project will explore the possibility of 4D printing implementation of the smart materials in application of smart and responsive surfaces including aircraft wings, UAVs, and extending to large-scale actuation for soft robotics systems.

Organization:

National Research Council Canada

Expected Results:

In the short term, anticipated outcomes will be strengthened collaborations across industry, academia, and government to support research excellence. In the medium term, anticipated outcomes will be the development of new and potentially disruptive technologies with collaborators.

Location:

Toronto, Ontario, CA M5S 1S8

Reference Number:

172-2020-2021-Q4-967263

Agreement Type:

Grant

Report Type:

Grants and Contributions

Recipient Business Number:

108162330

Recipient Type:

Academia

Recipient's Legal Name:

The Governing Council of the University of Toronto

Federal Riding Name:

University–Rosedale

Federal Riding Number:

35110

Program:

Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation Program – Ideation Fund

Program Purpose:

The Ideation Fund is intended to encourage, test and validate transformative research ideas generated by teams of NRC scientific personnel and external collaborators with complementary capabilities, acting as a demonstration phase for a continually-evolving suite of research and development (R&D) deliverables at the NRC. The fund supports exploratory research through two mechanisms: the New Beginnings Initiative and the Small Teams Initiative.

NAICS Code:

541710 - R&D in the physical, engineering and life sciences