• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers C
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• v.51 no.12
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• pp.601-607
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• 2002

IPMC(Ionic Polymer Metal Composite)actuators were optimized for producing improved forces by changing multiple parameters including repetition of number of plating, surface electroding and additive(PVP)-treatment on reduction. The platinum electrode is deposited on the surface of the material where platinum particle stay in a dense form that appears to introduce a significant level of surface electrode resistance. Actuation tests were performed for such IPMC actuators under a low voltage. The test results show that the lower surface-electrode resistance generates higher actuation capability in the IPMC actuators. In order to investigate relaxation behavior of bending and repeatability in dry condition, the IPMC was coated by$rubber(KRATON^{TM})$to minimize the effect of water evaporation from IPMC. This actuator can be used in air with surface coating to avoid membrane drying.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.1345-1345
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• 2007

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.739-740
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• 2010

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.515-516
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• 2010

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.22-30
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• 2006

In this paper, a systematic design method on an IPMC(ionic polymer-metal composite)-driven ZNMF(zero-net-mass-flux) pump is introduced for the flow control of an MAV's (micro air vehicle) wing. Since the IPMC is able to generate a large deformation under a low input voltage along with its ability to operate in air, and is easier to be manufactured in a small size, it is considered to be an ideal material of the actuating diaphragm. Through the numerical methods, an optimal shape of the IPMC　diaphragm was found for maximizing the stroke volume. Based on the optimal IPMC diaphragm, a proto-type ZNMF pump with a slot, was designed. By using the flight speed of the MAV considered in this work, the driving frequencies(~ 40 Hz) of IPMC diaphragm, and the flow velocity through the pump's slot, the calculated non-dimensional frequency and the momentum coefficient ensure the feasibility of the designed ZNMF pump as a flow control device.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.586-590
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• 2006

As one of electro active polymers for soft smart materials, the ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC) are easy to produce through chemical reduction processing and show high displacements at low voltage. When the IPMC actuates, the deformation depends on a few factors including the structure of based membrane, species and morphology of the metal electrodes, the nature of cations and the level of hydration. As previously published, we have been studying on improvement of actuation through surface electrode modification of IPMC to grasp the effect of electrode morphology on actuation. This study is comparative experiments through the chemical reaction and deposition by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) in order to prepare the very thin and homogeneous surface electrode of IPMC. The IPMCs were prepared with different surface roughness of polymer membrane, and the influence of the surface roughness on the actuation was studied. By investigating the electrical properties and driving displacement, the actuating properties of IPMC with different surface roughness were studied.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2017

Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC) is an electroactive polymer (EAP) and a promising candidate actuator for various potential applications mainly due to its flexible, low voltage/power requirements, small and compact design, and lack of moving parts. Although widely used in industry, this material requires accurate numerical models and knowledge of optimal control methods. This paper presents State-Dependent Riccati Equation (SDRE) approach as one of rapidly emerging methodologies for designing nonlinear controllers. Additionally, the present paper describes a novel method of Multi HGO Observer design. In the proposed design, the calculated position of the IPMC strip accurately tracks the target position, which is illustrated by the experiments. Numerical results and comparison with experimental data are presented and the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is verified in experiments.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.47-53
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• 2011

From recent research, it has revealed that Electroacitve polymer(EAP) has a physical limitation. Carbon nanotube(CNT) is known as the promising material which has excellent electro-mechanical characteristics and is mostly defect-free. It is expected that a successful synthesis of CNT and Nafion known as a primary material for IPMC would make a great improvement on its electro-mechanic feature. In this paper, we suggest the method of synthesis of CNT with Nafion which improves electro-mechanical characteristic. Using mechanical dispersion with Nafion and Isopropyl Alcohol(IPA), we disperse Single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWCNT). For a uniformly layer of CNT, we used a spray gun on a hot plate by a simplified method. In the result, we fabricated a disperse SWCNT/Nafion composite uniformly.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.372-373
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• 2008

The snap-through phenomena of the curved IPMC actuators were investigated according to the initial curvature of the actuators. The curved actuators were fabricated by long time thermal treatments. Cantilevered IPMCs have a constant curvature and their initial tip-displacements are 0, 8, and 16mm, respectively. These actuators were tested in terms of f response. AC response, FRF test for evaluating the effect of initial shape. The hysteresis and instant speed of tip point were measured for observation of the snap-through. Present results show that initial deformation strongly affects the snap-through phenomena, resulting in much larger tip-displacements.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.643-649
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• 2014

In order to demonstrate the possibility of applying an ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) to a finger exoskeleton, pinching motion analysis was performed for a thumb-index finger dummy actuated by IPMC actuators. The IPMC actuators of 5mm in width and 40mm in length with 2.4mm thickness generated 1.52N of blocking force for the applying voltage of 4.0V. Three actuators were installed on the three rotary joint of an index finger, and one actuator was installed on one proximal joint. Positions of each joint and finger tip were recorded on the video camera, and motion was analyzed. Power supply to the index finger actuators preceded power supply to the thumb actuator, and key pinching motion was accomplished in 180s. Tip pinching was accomplished in 135s as power supply to the thumb preceded power supply to the index finger.