Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Publication Date

1-30-2013

Abstract

A model that describes the relationship of an arbitrarily shaped artificial muscle to the force it produces does not currently exist for actuators made of ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMC), a type of electroactive smart material. The model in this thesis couples a finite element force simulation for IPMC with a novel method of performing force measurements for IPMC actuators. The model is capable of predicting the blocked force output for IPMC actuators of arbitrary dimension. The ultimate goal of this work is to create a method of analysis that allows for the design of custom IPMC fingers that have specific force production and actuation properties.

Keywords

Metal-filled plastics--Electric properties, Conducting polymers, Actuators--Materials, Smart materials, Artificial limbs--Materials.

Degree Name

Mechanical Engineering

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Mechanical Engineering

First Committee Member (Chair)

Khraishi, Tariq

Second Committee Member

Heinrich, Juan

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

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