Design and manufacturing of high-strain P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) actuators

Giulio Gallucci; Victor Jaarsma; Andres Hunt

doi:10.1117/12.3010459

9 May 2024 Design and manufacturing of high-strain P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) actuators

Giulio Gallucci, Victor Jaarsma, Andres Hunt

Proceedings Volume 12945, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) XXVI; 1294503 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3010459
Event: SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation, 2024, Long Beach, California, United States

Abstract

High strains of the relaxor ferroelectric polymers allows to build efficient actuators. While the mechanical impedance of such actuators can be optimized via their morphology, their practical realization requires flexible and versatile fabrication processes. This work devises an efficient procedure for manufacturing unimorph bending actuators basing on the P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) electroactive polymer (EAP). The fabrication process consists of inkjet printing the Ag electrodes and stencil printing the active P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) layer. The effect of constituent layer dimensions and properties are analytically modelled to estimate the optimal morphology for highest strains. Actuators are manufactured on polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates and their performance is characterized. On PET substrate, the EAP layer thicknesses of 5 μm up to 24 μm are studied. The PEN-based actuators achieved up to 759 μm deflections in quasi-static (1 Hz, 560 V_pp) and up to 5.95 mm in resonant operation (52 Hz, 550 V_pp). The PET-based actuators achieved up to 486 μm deflections in quasi-static (1 Hz, 980 V_pp) and up to 4.44 mm in resonant operation (116 Hz, 700 V_pp). These results indicate an up to 123% improvement in quasi-static and 60% resonant actuation strains compared to the previously reported similar actuators. Modelling predicts that significantly larger deflections are feasible when fabricating the transducers with optimized morphology.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Giulio Gallucci, Victor Jaarsma, and Andres Hunt "Design and manufacturing of high-strain P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) actuators", Proc. SPIE 12945, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) XXVI, 1294503 (9 May 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3010459

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