Characteristics Of Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Research Articles

Fish Inspired Biomimetic Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite Pectoral Fins Using Labriform Propulsion

In this article, we analyze and design ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) underwater propulsors inspired from swimming of labriform fishes. The structural model of the IPMC fin accounts for the electromechanical dynamics of the bean in water. A quasi steady blade element model that accounts for unsteady phenomena, such as added mass effects, dynamic stall, and cumulative Wagner effect is used to estimate the hydrodynamic performance. Dynamic characteristics of IPMC actuated flapping fins having the same size as the actual fins of three different fish species, Gomphosus varius, Scarus frenatus, and Sthethojulis trilineata, are analyzed using numerical simulations.

Dynamic Modeling of Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Using Equivalent Passive Electric Network Components

This paper presents dynamic modeling of Ionic Polymer Metal Composites (IPMC) using passive electric network components. The dynamic model using standard electric network components is a novel approach to model the transient and steady state voltage and current characteristics of IPMCs. This leads to a global model for IPMCs with fine tunable parameters, which depend on the material properties, the manufacturing process and the physical dimensions of the actuator. The dynamic model has been verified by simulation, system identification and experimental studies.

Fabrication of Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Actuator with Palladium Electrodes and Evaluation of its Bending Response

AbstractWe built up the way of fabricating IPMC actuator with palladium electrodes and we found that it showed large bending response than Au-plated IPMC actuator. An ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) consisting of a thin perfuorinated ionomer membrane, electrodes plated on both faces, undergoes large bending motion when a small electric field is applied across its thickness in a hydrated state. The characteristics of IPMC are ease of miniaturization, low density, and mechanical flexibility. Therefore, it is considered to have a wide range of applications from MEMS sensor to artificial muscle. However, there are problems on IPMC. First, its mechanical and electric characteristics have not been clarified because of the complex mechanism of the deformation. Second, it is high-priced because most of IPMC actuators use gold or platinum as electrodes. In order for IPMC actuator to be widely put to practical use, we should solve these problems. Hence, this research focuses on fabrication of IPMC actuator with palladium electrode, which is cheaper than gold or platinum, and evaluation of its mechanical properties such as its tip displacement. We fabricated IPMC consisting of a thin Nafion® membrane, which is the film with fluorocarbon back-bones and mobile cations, sandwiched between two thin palladium plates. The surface resistivity was 2.88±0.18Ω/sq., so it could be said to be enough small. Then, we observed its cross section by using FE-SEM. As a result, palladium plates were evenly coated and its thickness was about 30μm. Also, we carried out an actuation test for two kinds of IPMCs: one was fabricated by using Nafion®117 (thickness 183μm), the other was by Nafion®115 (thickness 127μm). In this test, the relationship between voltage (0˜4V) across its thickness and tip displacement for the cantilevered strip of the IPMC was measured. Then we found that IPMCs showed large bending motion under a low electric field. When Nafion®117 sample was subjected to voltage of 1.5V, the ratio of the tip displacement to the sample length was 0.35, which was lager bending than Au-plated IPMC actuator, whose ratio of the tip displacement to the sample length was 0.12 [1]. When Nafion®115 sample was applied to 1.5V, the ratio of the tip displacement to the sample length was 0.22. Then, we found that Nafion®117 bended in a larger way than Nafion®115. Reference [1]Sia Nemat-Nesser and Yongxian Wu,”Comparative experimental study of ionic polymer-metal composites with different backbone ionomers and in various cation forms”, Journal of Applied Physics,93,5255 (2003)

Integrated Design of an Ionic Polymer–Metal Composite Actuator/Sensor

We are studying the robotic application of ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC). The characteristics of IPMC greatly depend on the type of counterions, and it is considered that the performance of the actuators can be improved by combining the actuators with several types of counterions and applying an integrated control. IPMC also has a sensor function, as the IPMC film generates an electromotive force when it is deformed. It has the possibility to be integrated into an IPMC actuator with soft actuation. In this paper, we consider an integrated design of an IPMC actuator/sensor, and investigate control of the combined IPMC actuators using H ∞ control and the construction of an IPMC sensor system.