• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.291-298
• /
• 2020

ZITO/Ag/ZITO multilayer transparent electrodes at room temperature on glass substrates were prepared using RF/DC magnetron sputtering. Transparent conductive films with a sheet resistance of 9.4 Ω/㎡ and a transmittance of 83.2% at 550 nm were obtained for the multilayer structure comprising ZITO/Ag/ZITO (100/8/42 nm). The sheet resistance and transmittance of ZITO/Ag/ZITO multilayer films meant that they would be highly applicable for use in polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC)-based smart windows due to the ability to effectively block infrared rays (heat rays) and thereby act as an energy-saving smart glass. Effects of the thickness of the PDLC layer and the intensity of ultraviolet light (UV) on electro-optical properties, photopolymerization kinetics, and morphologies of difunctional urethane acrylate-based PDLC systems were investigated using new transparent conducting electrodes. A PDLC cell photo-cured using UV at an intensity of 2.0 mW/c㎡ with a 15 ㎛-thick PDLC layer showed outstanding off-state opacity, good on-state transmittance, and favorable driving voltage. Also, the PDLC-based smart window optimized in this study formed liquid crystal droplets with a favorable microstructure, having an average size range of 2~5 ㎛ for scattering light efficiently, which could contribute to its superior final performance.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.205-211
• /
• 2019

Over the past several decades, the polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) has received particular attention as a material for developing smart window due to their electro-optical switchable properties. In this study, PDLC cells were fabricated using acrylate monomers, namely 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (2-HEA) and ethylene glycol phenyl ether acrylate (EGPA), and the effect of the monomer composition on their electro-optical properties was investigated. The monomer mixture with a low viscosity (~10 cps) was easily filled between indium tin oxide (ITO) glasses by capillary action at room temperature. PDLC cells prepared using the mixture ratio of 1 : 9 (2-HEA : EGPA) did not show a complete opaque state at a 0 V condition but exhibited unstable electro-optical properties under an electric field. As the LC composition increased in the reaction mixture for PDLC cell preparation, the $V_{th}$ (threshold voltage) and $V_{sat}$ (saturation voltage) values as well as contrast ratio (CR) increased. $V_{th}$ and $V_{sat}$ values also increased with the cell gap thickness. PDLC cells with a $20{\mu}m$ cell gap thickness exhibited higher CR than those with 10 and $40{\mu}m$ cell gap thicknesses. Particularly, PDLC cells prepared using the mixture ratio of 7 : 3 (2-HEA : EGPA) showed excellent electro-optical properties such as a low driving voltage and high contrast ratio.

• International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.429-435
• /
• 2007

A number of different alternative actuation methods have been under active development for some specific applications where the traditional electromechanical actuators are difficult to apply. Recently, many of these substitutes are trying to employ new smart materials like electroactive polymers. However most of the polymeric materials are flexible and vulnerable so that they normally can not sustain external forces. Although the materials have shown a good potential to be used for alternative actuation mechanisms, no tangible industrial application is yet presented because of the reason. A conceptual design for a rectilinear motion actuator using dielectric elastomer is presented in this article. The introduced design concept might enable to produce fairly controllable rectilinear motions for various applications and the presented prototype actuator system is fully packaged in a small unit and controlled by a standard communication interface.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.1601-1623
• /
• 2015

Electroactive polymers have attracted considerable attention in recent years due to their sensing and actuating properties which make them a material of choice for a wide range of applications including sensors, biomimetic robots, and biomedical micro devices. This paper presents an effective modeling strategy for nonlinear large deformation (small strains and moderate rotations) dynamic analysis of polymer actuators. Considering that the complicated electro-chemo-mechanical dynamics of these actuators is a drawback for their application in functional devices, establishing a mathematical model which can effectively predict the actuator's dynamic behavior can be of paramount importance. To effectively predict the actuator's dynamic behavior, a comprehensive mathematical model is proposed correlating the input voltage and the output bending displacement of polymer actuators. The proposed model, which is based on the rigid finite element (RFE) method, consists of two parts, namely electrical and mechanical models. The former is comprised of a ladder network of discrete resistive-capacitive components similar to the network used to model transmission lines, while the latter describes the actuator as a system of rigid links connected by spring-damping elements (sdes). Both electrical and mechanical components are validated through experimental results.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.207-214
• /
• 2019

Achieving a pervious concrete (PC) with appropriate physical and mechanical properties used in pavement have been strongly investigated through the use of different materials specifically from the global waste materials of the populated areas. Discarded tires and the rubber tire particles have been currently manufactured as the recycled waste materials. In the current study, the combination of polymer, silica fume and rubber aggregates from rubber tire particles have been used to obtain an optimized PC resulting that the PC with silica fume, polymer and rubber aggregate replacement to mineral aggregate has greater compressive and flexural strength. The related flexural and compressive strength of the produced PC has been increased 31% and 18% compared to the mineral PC concrete, also, the impact resistance has been progressed 8% compared to the mineral aggregate PC and the permeability with Open Graded Fraction Course standard (OGFC). While the manufactured PC has significantly reduced the elasticity modulus of usual pervious concrete, the impact resistance has been remarkably improved.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.282-291
• /
• 2012

Control of shape/volume, mechanical, optical, electrical, and chemical switching of materials by external stimuli such as light, temperature, pH, electric field, and pressure has attracted great attention. Among these materials, photo-responsive materials containing photochromic compounds such as azobenzene, spiropyran, and cinnamic acid groups have been the subject of intense interest in recent years. In this review, we describe the recent progress in the area of azobenzene containing polymer materials that can convert light energy into mechanical energy directly. Especially we focus our attention on light-driven actuators such as artificial muscle, motor, and valve. We summarize the photomechanical effects in liquid crystal elastomer, amorphous polymer, monolayer, and supramolecules containing azobenzene, respectively.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.205-212
• /
• 2001

One of the important characteristics of biological systems os their ability to change im-portant properties in response to small environmental signals. The molecular mechanisms that biological molecules utilize to sense and respond provide interesting models for the development of "smart" polymeric biomaterials with biomimetic properties. An important example of this is the protein coat of viruses, which contains peptide units that facilitate the trafficking of the virus into the cell via endocytosis, then out of the endosome into the cytoplasm, and from there into the nucleus, We have designed a family of synthetic polymers whose compositions have been de-signed to mimic specific peptides on viral coats that facilitate endosomal escape. Our biomimetic polymers are responsive to the lowered pH whinin endosomes, leading to distruption of the en-dosomal membrane and release of important biomolecular druges such as DNA, RNA, peptides and proteins to the cytoplasm before they are trafficked to lysosomes and degraded by lysosomal en-zymes. In this article, we review our work on the design, synthesis and action of such smart, pH-sensitive polymers.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.81-85
• /
• 2017

Fiber-reinforced polymer composites, which are made by combining a continuous fiber that acts as reinforcement and a homogeneous polymeric material that acts as a host, are engineering materials with high strength and stiffness and a lightweight structure. In this study, a shape memory alloy(SMA) reinforced composite actuator is presented. This actuator is used to generate large deformations in single lightweight structures and can be used in applications requiring a high degree of adaptability to various external conditions. The proposed actuator consists of numerous individual laminas of the glass-fiber fabric that are embedded in a polymeric matrix. To characterize its deformation behavior, the composition of the actuator was changed by changing the matrix material and the number of the glass-fiber fabric layers. In addition, current of various magnitudes were applied to each actuator to study the effect of the heating of SMA wires on applying current.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.10
• /
• pp.1007-1014
• /
• 2004

This paper presents a study of low frequencies volume velocity vibration control of a smart panel in order to reduce sound transmission. A distributed piezoelectric quadratically shaped polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer film is used as a uniform force actuator and an array of $4\;{\times}\;4$ accelerometer is used as a volume velocity sensor for the implementation of a single-input single-output control system. The theoretical and experimental study of sensor-.actuator frequency response function shows that this sensor-actuator arrangement provides a required strictly positive real frequency response function below about 900 Hz. Direct velocity feedback could therefore be implemented with a limited gain which gives reductions of about 15 dB in vibration level and about 8 dB in acoustic power level at the (1,1) mode of the smart panel. It has been also shown that the shaping error of PVDF actuator could limit the stability and performance of the control system.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
• /
• 2008.06a
• /
• pp.838-843
• /
• 2008

Cause of struggling to escape from dependency of fossil fuels, the fuel cell and the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) draw attention in the all of the world. Especially, the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) systems have been anticipated for next generation's energy supplying system, and we can predict the PHEV will enlarge the market share in the next few years to reduce not only the air pollution in the metropolis but the fuel-expenses of commuters. This paper presents simulation results about the strategy of smart charging system for PHEV in the residential house which has 1 kW PEMFC cogeneration system. The smart charging system has a function of recommending the best time to charge the battery of PHEV by the lowest energy cost. The simulated energy cost for charging the battery based on the electricity demand data pattern in the house. The house which floor area is $132\;m^2$ (40 pyeong.). In these conditions, the annual gasoline, electricity, and total energy cost to fuel the PHEV versus Conventional Vehicle (CV) have been simulated in terms of cars' average life span in Korea.