Application of the Nafion-platinum composite actuator

Abstract

Nafion-platinum composite (IPMC or ICPF) is one of the electro-active polymer actuators nearest to real applications. This paper introduces development of some actuation devices using IPMC. A distributed actuation device has a number of EFD (Elliptic Friction Drive) elements that give planar motoin with two degrees of freedom by 2 IPMC actuators. Coordinated motion of EFDs realizes robustness of drive. A soft micromanipulator with three degrees of freedom is a parallel mechanism having 4 actuator parts enabling motion in x, y and z directions. A face actuation device is a sheet that changes its shape arbitrarily by applying electric stimuli to its grid electrode structure. In order to develop the mechanical structures and the control strategies for those applications, appropriate models are essential. It introduces a gray-box model practical for the design purpose.