Electromechanical actuators ionic polymer metal composite

TABLE 16.2 Comparison between Two Mechanical Properties of Different Actuating Materials Skeletal Muscles, Thermomechanical (Thermal Liquid Crystals and Thermal Shape Memory Alloys), Electrochemomechanical (Conducting Polymers and Carbon Nanotubes) and Electromechanical (Ionic Polymer Metal Composites, Field Driven Liquid Crystal Elastomers, Dielectric Elastomers)... 

The forth direction, analytical modeling for understanding the behaviors of these materials, has been popular approach. Testing and characterization have been conducted for developing the models. Such attempts have been done especially for ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs)[58, 70, 72, 120]. Nemab Nasser and his co-workers carried out extensive experimental studies on both Nafion- and Flemion-based IPMCs consisting of a thin perfluorinated ionomer in various cation forms, seeking to imderstand the fundamental properties of these composites, to explore the mechanism of their actuation, and finally, to optimize their performance for various potential applications[121]. They also performed a systematic experimental evaluation of the mechanical response of both metal-plated and bare Nafion and Flemion in various cation forms and various water saturation levels. They attempted to identify potential micromechanisms responsible for the observed electromechanical behavior of these materials, model them, and compare the model results with experimental data[122]. A computational micromechanics model has been developed to model the initial fast electromechanical response in these ionomeric materials[123]. A number... 

Asaka, K., Mori, N., Hayashi, K., et al. (2004) Modelling of the electromechanical response of ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC), Proceedings of the SPIE Conference on Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices, San Diego, CA, 5385. 

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