Self-oscillation of cantilevered silicone oil paper sheet system driven by steam

Self-oscillation is to draw energy from a stable external environment to maintain its own continuous motion, making it a highly relevant concept for intelligent materials, soft robots and medical devices. Exploring a simple and durable system driven by steam for self-sustained motion is a tough challenge. In this article, a novel steamdriven self-oscillation cantilevered silicon oil paper is proposed, incorporating a rectangular silicon oil paper sheet, a fixed end and a set of vertically rising steam. Experiments show that the silicone oil paper sheet can engage in continuous periodic self-oscillation in a steady steam. According to the above phenomenon, the dynamic model of the self-oscillation system is established, and the control equation is derived. The semi-analytical form of solution is obtained using the modal superposition method. It shows that the paper sheet has two motion patterns, namely, the static pattern and the self-oscillation pattern. The theoretical predictions are in general agreement with the experimental results. The silicone oil paper sheet maintains the self-oscillation by absorbing thermal energy to offset the damping dissipation. In addition, the critical conditions for self-oscillation and the key system parameters affecting its frequency and amplitude are also examined thoroughly. The oscillation amplitude can be controlled by adjusting the inclined angle, steam temperature factor, damping coefficient and thermal characteristic time, while the frequency mainly depends on the inclined angle and steam temperature factor. The cantilevered silicone oil paper sheet has advantages of simple structure, flexible adjustment, customizable size, and easy assembly. It is expected to have a certain guiding significance in the fields of remote drives, sensors, and micro-robot design.