Long-term behavior of ionic electroactive polymer actuators in variable humidity conditions

V. Vunder; A. Punning; A. Aabloo

doi:10.1117/12.2084155

1 April 2015 Long-term behavior of ionic electroactive polymer actuators in variable humidity conditions

V. Vunder, A. Punning, A. Aabloo

Proceedings Volume 9430, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2015; 94300R (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2084155
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Ionic electroactive polymers or IEAPs are considered as an attractive actuators and sensors in various applications. Many of these polymer composites are designed to be used in an ambient environment. However, the ambient conditions may significantly vary depending on the seasonal or the geographical irregularities generated by the power of nature.

Taking the advantage of the fluctuating weather conditions of Estonia, different IEAP materials were continuously monitored for about 6 weeks. During this time the temperature and relative humidity of the ambient environment varied between 30-58 % and 23-29 °C respectively. The experiment was conducted in a non-air-conditioned lab facility where the parameters such as temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure were registered. Concurrently the electromechanical impedance of 12 actuators of different types was registered. This setup brings out the degradation as well as the impact of the environment to the IEAP actuators. The analysis reveals that the performance of the actuators under research is highly correlated with the ambient relative humidity level which can increase or decrease their performance more than 2 times. Naturally, this issue needs to be addressed in characterization, modeling and control areas. In contrast, the changes of pressure and temperature appeared to have no significant influence on the performance of the actuators investigated

Citation Download Citation

V. Vunder, A. Punning, and A. Aabloo "Long-term behavior of ionic electroactive polymer actuators in variable humidity conditions", Proc. SPIE 9430, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2015, 94300R (1 April 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2084155

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available