Polymeric Thermal Microactuator With Embedded Silicon Skeleton: Part I-Design and Analysis

This paper presents the modeling of a new design of a polymeric thermal microactuator with an embedded meander-shaped silicon skeleton. The design has a skeleton embedded in a polymer block. The embedded skeleton improves heat transfer to the polymer and reinforces it. In addition, the skeleton late...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of microelectromechanical systems 2008-08, Vol.17 (4), p.809-822
Main Authors: Gih-Keong Lau, Goosen, J.F.L., van Keulen, F., Trinh Chu Duc, Sarro, P.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actuators
Analytical and numerical techniques
Approximation
Artificial muscle
Design engineering
Electrothermal effects
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
General equipment and techniques
Geometry
Heat transfer
Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy
Mathematical analysis
Mathematical models
Mechanical instruments, equipment and techniques
Microactuators
microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)
Micromechanical devices and systems
multiphysics modeling
Physics
polymer actuators
Polymers
Silicon
Skeleton
Solid mechanics
Solid modeling
Static elasticity (thermoelasticity...)
Structural and continuum mechanics
Studies
thermal actuators
Thermal expansion
Transducers
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Summary:This paper presents the modeling of a new design of a polymeric thermal microactuator with an embedded meander-shaped silicon skeleton. The design has a skeleton embedded in a polymer block. The embedded skeleton improves heat transfer to the polymer and reinforces it. In addition, the skeleton laterally constrains the polymer to direct the volumetric thermal expansion of the polymer in the actuation direction. The complex geometry and multiple-material composition of the actuator make its modeling very involved. In this paper, the main focus is on the development of approximate electrothermal and thermoelastic models to capture the essence of the actuator behavior. The approximate models are validated with a fully coupled multiphysics finite element model and with experimental testing. The approximate models can be useful as an inexpensive tool for subsequent design optimization. Evaluation, using the analytical and numerical models, shows that the polymer actuator with the embedded skeleton outperforms its counterpart without a skeleton, which is in terms of heat transfer and, thus, response time, actuation stress, and planarity.
ISSN:1057-7157
1941-0158
DOI:10.1109/JMEMS.2008.924842