A Bio-Hygromorph Fabricated with Fish Swim Bladder Hydrogel and Wood Flour-Filled Polylactic Acid Scaffold by 3D Printing

Abstract

Non-powered adaptive systems are attractive in the construction of environment actuators, meteorosensitive architectures, biomedical devices, and soft robotics. Combining hydrophilic materials and anisotropic structures to mimic self-morphing plant structures has been demonstrated as an effective approach to creating artificial hygromorphs. The convenience of 3D printing technologies in shaping programmable complex structures facilitates the imitation of complex anisotropic plant structures. In this research, we constructed a bio-hygromorph using fish swim bladder hydrogel as the hydrophilic material and wood flour-filled polylactic acid (WPLA) scaffold, which was printed with fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing technology (3DP). The environmental benign bio-hygromorph displayed morphing abilities triggered by moisture content changes, as the fish swim bladder hydrogel swelled and shrunk during absorption and desorption cycles. The strain disproportion of the two-layered composite structure in the bio-hygromorph drove the bending deformation. Stress analyses performed with finite element analysis (FEA) also revealed the mechanism behind the moisture content driven morphing of the bio-hygromorph. Notably, the bio-hygromorph exhibited faster response times to moisture absorption than desorption, which may donate actuators’ different attributes in distinct moisture conditions.