Investigation of electrically conducting yarns for use in textile actuators

Jose G Martinez,Edwin W H Jager,Nils-Krister Persson,Klaus Richter

doi:10.1088/1361-665x/aabab5

Jose G Martinez, Edwin W H Jager + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665x/aabab5

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Abstract

Textile actuators are an emerging technology to develop biomimetic actuators with synergetic actuation. They are composed of a passive fabric coated with an electroactive polymer providing with mechanical motion. Here we used different conducting yarns (polyamide + carbon, silicon + carbon, polyamide + silver coated, cellulose + carbon, polyester + 2 × INOX 50 μm, polyester + 2 × Cu/Sn and polyester + gold coated) to develop such textile actuators. It was possible to coat them through direct electrochemical methods, which should provide with an easier and more cost-effective fabrication process. The conductivity and the electrochemical properties of the yarns were sufficient to allow the electropolymerization of the conducting polymer polypyrrole on the yarns. The electropolymerization was carried out and both the linear and angular the actuation of the yarns was investigated. These yarns may be incorporated into textile actuators for assistive prosthetic devices easier and cheaper to get and at the same time with good mechanical performance are envisaged.

Highlights

Industrial robots and automated devices are nowadays extensively used in industry, enabling large volume production of standardized commodities, saving costs and increasing the quality of the products [1, 2]
Polyamide + carbon (PA + C) from Jarden Applied Materials (USA) with carbon particles included in thermoplastic spinning material, silicon + carbon (Silicon + C) from LeMur S.r.l. (Italy) with carbon particles included in silicon spinning, polyamide + silver coated (PA + Ag coated) from Imbut GmbH (Germany) with the yarn surface coated with Ag through electrolyses, cellulose + carbon (Cellulose + C) from Thüringisches Institut für Textil-und Kunststoff-Forschung e.V. (Germany) with carbon particles included in the cellulose spinning, polyester + 2 × INOX 50 μm (PES + 2 × INOX) from ITP GmbH (Germany) with PES-yarn wounded with INOX wire, polyester + 2 × Cu/Sn (PES + 2Cu/Sn) from ITP GmbH (Germany) with a PES
The conductivity values’ range was very wide, but all of them were higher than 1 S cm−1, which is in the range of semiconductors, and high enough to allow the PPy elecropolymerization on their surface

Summary

Introduction

Industrial robots and automated devices are nowadays extensively used in industry, enabling large volume production of standardized commodities, saving costs and increasing the quality of the products [1, 2]. Robotic devices are becoming ubiquitous in humans’ daily life, as it is the case of robotic vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers or pool cleaners [4]. One field raising specific attention nowadays is assistive robotics: robots helping people with some disability or injury to perform their daily tasks or assisting the elderly [5, 6].

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