Effect of ambient humidity on ionic electroactive polymer actuators

Comparable electromechanical measurements were carried out with carbon-based ionic electroactive polymer actuators in vacuum, dry inert, and in ambient air environment. The results bring forward the effect of ambient humidity on the electrical and mechanical parameters of the laminates of this type....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Smart materials and structures 2016-05, Vol.25 (5), p.55038-55048
Main Authors: Vunder, Veiko, Hamburg, Edgar, Johanson, Urmas, Punning, Andres, Aabloo, Alvo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
actuator
Actuators
Bending
carbon electrode
Drying
electroactive polymer
Electroactive polymer actuators
Humidity
Inert
ionic liquid
Laminates
Mathematical models
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Summary:Comparable electromechanical measurements were carried out with carbon-based ionic electroactive polymer actuators in vacuum, dry inert, and in ambient air environment. The results bring forward the effect of ambient humidity on the electrical and mechanical parameters of the laminates of this type. Presence of water decreases the Young's modulus of the polymer and lowers the viscosity of the ionic liquid, which, in turn, is accompanied by the increase of ionic conductivity of the electrolyte. The factual bending behavior of the actuator is a result of the combined effect of these factors. A four-parameter model was developed for the quantitative estimation of the rates of forward-actuation and back-relaxation as well as the electrical parameters. An important outcome of the experiments is the observation that there is nearly no back-relaxation in vacuum and in dry inert environment.
ISSN:0964-1726
1361-665X
DOI:10.1088/0964-1726/25/5/055038