Abstract: On the base of controllable variable stiffness property, variable stiffness composites were the main components of functional materials in aerospace. However, the relatively low mechanical strength, stiffness range, and response rate restricted the application of variable stiffness composite. In this work, the novel variable stiffness composite system with characteristics of repeatable high load bearing and response rate was successfully prepared via the double-layer anisotropic structure to solve the bottlenecks of variable stiffness composites. The novel variable stiffness composite systems were composed of variable stiffness layer of polycaprolactone (PCL) and the driven layer of silicone elastomer with alcohol, which continuously changed Young’s modulus from 0.1 to 7.263 MPa (72.63 times variation) in 200 s and maintained maximum weight of 11.52 times its own weight (8.5 g). Attributed to the relatively high variable stiffness range and load bearing value of variable stiffness composite system, the repeatable response process led to the efficient high load driven as “muscle” and diversified precise grab of objects with different shapes as “gripper”, owning widespread application prospects in the field of bionics.

Key words: Variable stiffness composite , · High strength , · Repeatable , · High load bearing , · Bionic