Abstract
Heat generation in active/passive layer-based piezoelectric actuators is unavoidable due to the mechanical, dielectric, and resistive losses in the material. In this work, a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based unimorph cantilever actuator is developed with simulation and experimental studies on the effect of DC high voltages on heat production in the PVDF layer. A layer of one-way shape memory polymers (1W-SMPs) is integrated in the actuator to exploit the heat produced to increase the bending angle. The length and mounting location of the SMP layer impacts the bending of the actuator; by using an SMP layer with a length equal to half of the PVDF layer at the center of the unimorph actuator, the absolute bending angle is increased to 40° compared to the base piezo bending angle of 4° at 20 V/µm.
Highlights
Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a dielectric material that exhibits piezoelectric, pyroelectric [1], and photoelectric [2] effects, making it a popular choice among electroactive polymers [3,4,5]
The high operating voltage, low electrical conductivity of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and mechanical and dielectric losses are responsible for heat generation in piezoelectric materials [9,10,11,12,13]
The developed SMP film was programmed with 30% strain and was mounted on the PVDF/Scotch tape unimorph using adhesive transfer tape. 3M 467MP adhesive transfer tape was used for layer bonding
Summary
Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a dielectric material that exhibits piezoelectric, pyroelectric [1], and photoelectric [2] effects, making it a popular choice among electroactive polymers [3,4,5]. The high operating voltage, low electrical conductivity of PVDF, and mechanical and dielectric losses are responsible for heat generation in piezoelectric materials [9,10,11,12,13]. The current work investigates the amount of heat generated within the piezoelectric layer and its contribution to the bending of the unimorph actuator. The use of temperature-sensitive deforming materials to enhance the bending of the unimorph actuator would achieve an effective way to utilize this heat. A one-way shape-memory polyurethane material is used to exploit the heat and enhance the bending of unimorph. The verification of heat generated in the piezo layer and its effect on the bending of the actuator acting as thermal bimorph is presented in the results section. SMP/PVDF actuator for the applied DC field is discussed
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