A dielectric elastomer actuator with self-sensing capability

Chúc, Nguyễn Hữu; Thuy, Doan Vu; Park, Jonggil; Kim, DukSang; Koo, Jachoon; Lee, Youngkwan; Nam, Jae‐Do; Choi, Hyouk Ryeol

doi:10.1117/12.777900

Cited by 36 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The flexible actuators are expected to be used as electrical switches for flexible supercapacitor, lithium-ion battery, and other electrochromatic devices. , However, general designs of flexible actuators are based on all-organic or organic/inorganic composite materials, usually subject to slow response, limited lifetime, or high triggering threshold. Ionic electroactive polymer (ionic EAP), electronic EAP, and thermally active polymer are major actuation materials for flexible actuators based on various driving mechanisms. , Most of ionic EAP have low driving voltages (∼several volts), yet their responses are typically slow, in the range of 0.1–10 s. − The response time of thermally active polymers is limited by their low thermal conductivity, as a result usually larger than 0.1 s. − Electronic EAP could respond as fast as down to ∼1 ms, whereas their high driving voltages usually over 1 kV have greatly limited the range of their applications. − Therefore, it is still a great challenge to build flexible actuators, which could rapidly respond to multiple stimuli, with low requirements for driving conditions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible, All-Inorganic Actuators Based on Vanadium Dioxide and Carbon Nanotube Bimorphs

Ma¹,

Hou²,

Wang³

et al. 2016

Nano Lett.

102

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Flexible actuators responsive to multiple stimuli are much desired in wearable electronics. However, general designs containing organic materials are usually subject to slow response and limited lifetime, or high triggering threshold. In this study, we develop flexible, all-inorganic actuators based on bimorph structures composed of vanadium dioxide (VO) and carbon nanotube (CNT) thin films. The drastic, reversible phase transition of VO drives the actuators to deliver giant amplitude, fast response up to ∼100 Hz, and long lifetime more than 1 000 000 actuation cycles. The excellent electrical conductivity and light absorption of CNT thin films enable the actuators to be highly responsive to multiple stimuli including light, electric, and heat. The power consumption of the actuators can be much reduced by doping VO to lower its phase transition temperature. These flexible bimorph actuators find applications in biomimetic inspect wings, millimeter-scale fingers, and physiological-temperature driven switches.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible, All-Inorganic Actuators Based on Vanadium Dioxide and Carbon Nanotube Bimorphs

Ma¹,

Hou²,

Wang³

et al. 2016

Nano Lett.

102

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“…The self-sensing DE actuator has been designed and investigated extensively [151 -158]. Furthermore, numerous studies have reported this by measuring capacitance during actuation to monitor the change in strain [158][159][160][161]. This design paves the way for micro-scale actuators, since independent sensing devices are not needed.…”

Section: Sensors Based On Dielectric Elastomersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electroactive polymers for sensing

et al. 2016

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Electromechanical coupling in electroactive polymers (EAPs) has been widely applied for actuation and is also being increasingly investigated for sensing chemical and mechanical stimuli. EAPs are a unique class of materials, with low-moduli high-strain capabilities and the ability to conform to surfaces of different shapes. These features make them attractive for applications such as wearable sensors and interfacing with soft tissues. Here, we review the major types of EAPs and their sensing mechanisms. These are divided into two classes depending on the main type of charge carrier: ionic EAPs (such as conducting polymers and ionic polymer–metal composites) and electronic EAPs (such as dielectric elastomers, liquid-crystal polymers and piezoelectric polymers). This review is intended to serve as an introduction to the mechanisms of these materials and as a first step in material selection for both researchers and designers of flexible/bendable devices, biocompatible sensors or even robotic tactile sensing units.

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“…The self-sensing methods in previous publications differ from each other regarding the analyzed electrical characteristics, like electrode resistance 8 , leakage current 9,10 , different concepts of capacitance measurements 11,12,13 or even combinations of them 14,15 . However, in most cases only one of these parameters is analyzed, while other parameters are taken as constant or even negligible, which can lead to serious reduction of accuracy 14 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Dielectric elastomer actuators as self-sensing devices: a new method of superimposing actuating and sensing signals

et al. 2015

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Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have a lot of advantages such as high energy efficiency, unrivaled power-toweight ratio and soft structure. Furthermore this new kind of actuator is capable of sensing its deformation and status without additional sensing devices. Therefore, DEAs are acknowledged as self-sensing actuators. In this contribution a new self-sensing technique for DEAs is presented, in which the capacitance of DEAs under deformation is measured using high voltage signals. For this purpose, simple signal processing algorithms and a novel method of superimposing actuating and sensing signals are implemented. By connecting the ground potential electrode of the DEA to a sinusoidal sensing signal, the DEA is used as a passive first order high-pass filter. The other electrode of the DEA is connected to the actuation voltage, which is superimposed with the sinusoidal signal. The amplitude of this signal is basically dependent on the capacitance of the actuator. Therefore, the change of the capacitance induced by contraction of the actuator alters the amplitude of the sinusoidal signal. The amplitude change can then be interpreted as capacity change and can be used to estimate the mechanical deformation of the DEA. In comparison to existing methods, this approach is promising for a miniaturized circuit and therefore for later use in mobile systems. In this paper, the new concept of superimposing actuating and sensing signals for self-sensing DEAs is validated with an experimental setup and several known capacities. The first results are presented and discussed in detail.

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A dielectric elastomer actuator with self-sensing capability

Cited by 36 publications

References 14 publications

Flexible, All-Inorganic Actuators Based on Vanadium Dioxide and Carbon Nanotube Bimorphs

Flexible, All-Inorganic Actuators Based on Vanadium Dioxide and Carbon Nanotube Bimorphs

Electroactive polymers for sensing

Dielectric elastomer actuators as self-sensing devices: a new method of superimposing actuating and sensing signals

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