Modeling and Experimental Analysis of the Mass Loading Effect on Micro-Ionic Polymer Actuators Using Step Response Identification

Abstract

This paper presents a linear electrochemomechanical model for microscale ionic actuators. A frequency-domain approach is used to facilitate model interpretation, simplify model application, and accelerate the generation of actuator-specific models. A system comprising a micro PEDOT:PSS/PEO actuator with external loading at its tip was modeled to incorporate the mass loading effect using the proposed approach. Analysis showed that the simulation results of the reported model were in agreement with the experimental measurements conducted with variability in the mass and input voltage. The success of the proposed modeling approach promises to enable its application in the control of microscale ionic actuators for potential biomedical applications.