Potential of thermally expandable polymers with embedded skeletons for actuator applications

Gih-Keong Lau; Johannes F. L. Goosen; Trinh Chu Duc; Fred van Keulen

doi:10.1117/12.776238

10 April 2008 Potential of thermally expandable polymers with embedded skeletons for actuator applications

Gih-Keong Lau, Johannes F. L. Goosen, Trinh Chu Duc, Fred van Keulen

Proceedings Volume 6927, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2008; 69271D (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.776238
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2008, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of a new type of thermal micro-actuators using thermally expandable polymers with embedded skeletons. Embedding a stiff skeleton enhances the actuation capability of the thermally expandable polymer. Consequently, the skeleton-reinforced polymers feature a large maximum actuation stress (often above 100 MPa) and a moderate maximum strain (often above 1%) besides a faster thermal response. In addition, the present composite design has room for performance improvement by tuning the volume fraction of the polymeric expander or selecting a proper expander material. Furthermore, the micro-actuators can be taylored for different motion characteristics, using various skeleton shapes. Finally, we discussed the possible applications using the present actuators.

Citation Download Citation

Gih-Keong Lau, Johannes F. L. Goosen, Trinh Chu Duc, and Fred van Keulen "Potential of thermally expandable polymers with embedded skeletons for actuator applications", Proc. SPIE 6927, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2008, 69271D (10 April 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.776238

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