MSI PI Julianna Abel (assistant professor, Mechanical Engineering) and colleagues have published research that describes their development of a self-fitting, temperature-responsive textile. The study was published in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies. It describes a fabric made of shape memory alloys that, using only body heat, can self-adjust to mold to the body.
This research is featured in Research Brief on the University of Minnesota News site: Research Brief: Invention of Shape-Changing Textiles Powered Only by Body Heat. The paper can be found on the journal website: Functionally Graded Knitted Actuators With NiTi-Based Shape Memory Alloys for Topographically Self-Fitting Wearables.
Professor Abel uses MSI for multi-scale modeling that supports her research into functional fabrics.