Ionic polymer metal composites IPMCs

Kim KJ, Shahinpoor M (2002) A novel method of manufacturing three-dimensional ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) bomimetic sensors, actuators and artificial muscles. Polymer 43 797... 

The purpose of this book is to provide a focused, in-depth, yet self-contained treatment of recent advances made in several most promising EAP materials. In particular, the book covers two classes of ionic EAPs, ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) and conjugated polymers, and one class of electronic EAP materials, dielectric elastomers. Ionic EAPs realize actuation through ion transport, and thus require very low voltages (a few volts) to operate, but their bandwidths are typically lower than tens of Hz. On the other hand, dielectric elastomers rely on electrostatic forces to operate and thus require high actuation voltages (kilovolts), but... 

Chen, Z., Tan, X. and Shahinpoor, M. (2005). Quasi-static positioning of ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuators, in Proceedings of the lEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (Monterey, CA), pp. 60-65. 

Costa Branco, P. J. and Dente, J. A. (2006). Derivation of a continuum model and its electric equivalent-circuit representation for ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) electromechanics. Smart Materials and Structures 15, pp. 378-392. 

Shahinpoor, M., Bar-Cohen, Y., Simpson, J. O. and Smith, J. (1998). Ionic polymer-metal composites (ipmcs) as biomimetic sensors, actuators and artificial muscles - a review. Smart Materials and Structures 7, 6, p. R15. 

Shahinpoor, M. and Kim, K. J. (2000). The effect of surface-electrode resistance on the performance of ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) artificial muscles, Smart Materials and Structures 9, pp. 543-551. 

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... 

In this chapter, the fundamental aspects of the ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuators have been described. The IPMC actuators have many unique characteristics such as softness, large bending response, low voltage drive, easy forming into any shape, and so on, which are suitable for biomedical applications. In the next chapter, the biomedical applications of IPMC actuators are described. 

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. 

Shahinpoor, M. (2004) Smart Thin Sheet Batteries Made With Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMCs), Proceedings of ASME-IMECE 2004 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and RD D Exposition, 13 19 November, Anaheim, CA. 

Ferrara, L., Shahinpoor, M., Kim, K. J., et al. (1999) Use of Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMCs) As A Pressure Transducer In the Human Spine, in Electroactive Polymers, SPIE (publication, number 3669-45), 394—401. 

Nemat-Nasser, S. (2002) Micro-Mechanics of Actuation of Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMCs), J. Applied Phys, 92 (5), 2899-915. 

The ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC, which is also known as ICPF in the robotics field) [10, 11] is one of the electroactive polymers that have shown potential for practical applications. The IPMC is an chemically plated electroactive polymer (EAP) material that bends when subjected to a voltage across its thickness (Figure 8.1). A Nafion-gold composite type IPMC [12], which contained the sodium ion, has a relatively good... 

Figure 8.1 Ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuator.

Ionic Polymer—Metal Composite (IPMC) Based Steerable Catheters... 

The Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite (IPMC) is a type of EAP actuator whose use in active catheters has been studied the most [19-22, 27, 28]. An IPMC consists of a polymer electrolyte sandwiched between two thin metal layers and typically has an elastic modulus of 0.1 GPa [10]. Common polymer electrolytes are perfluorinated alkenes with anionic-group-terminated side chains, such as Nafion and Flemion or styrene/divinylbenzene based polymers with ionic groups substituted from phenyl rings [10]. 

Fang, B.K., Ju, M.S., Lin, C.K. (2007) A new approach to develop ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMC) actuator Fabrication and control for active catheter systems. Sensors and Actuators A Physical, 137, 321-9. 

---