An Instrument for the Measurement of Soft Material Nonlinear Mechanical Response

Soft material research has seen significant growth in recent years, with emerging applications in robotics, electronics, and healthcare diagnostics where understanding material mechanical response is crucial for precision design. Traditional methods for measuring nonlinear mechanical properties of soft materials require specially sized samples that are extracted from their natural environment to be mounted on the testing instrument. This has been shown to compromise data accuracy and precision in various soft and biological materials. To overcome this, the Volume Controlled Cavity Expansion (VCCE) method was developed. This technique tests soft materials by controlling the formation rate of a liquid cavity inside the materials at the tip of an injection needle, and simultaneously measuring the resisting pressure which describes the material response. Despite VCCE’s early successes, expansion of its application beyond academia has been hindered by cost, size, and expertise. In response to this, the first portable, bench-top instrument utilizing VCCE is presented here. This device, built with affordable, readily available components and open-source software, streamlines VCCE experimentation without sacrificing performance or precision. It is especially suitable for space-limited settings and designed for use by non-experts, promoting widespread adoption. The instrument’s efficacy was demonstrated through testing Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) samples of varying stiffness. This study not only validates instrument performance, but also sets the stage for further advancements and broader applications in soft material testing. All data, along with acquisition, control, and post-processing scripts, are made available on GitHub.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Unikewicz, Brendan M.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Cohen, Tal

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
• Copyright retained by author(s)

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/158836

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/158836