| Abstract Scope |
Natural resilin, an elastomeric protein found in many insects and arthropods, has gained attention due to its unique properties, such as large strain, high resilience, efficient energy storage and exceptional cyclic lifetime at a micro/nanoscale. Due to these outstanding properties, it is of great importance to produce man-made materials to mimic the properties of natural resilin for potential applications in biodevices and systems. In this work, we synthesize resilin-mimicking hydrogels from Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), Polyethylene glycol (PEG), and Polyacrylamide (PAAm) and study the contact deformation of the hydrogels. The contact modulus and energy dissipation during the contact deformation are characterized. We use finite element analysis to simulate the contact deformation of the hydrogels and compare numerical results with experimental data. |