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. 2023 Jan 22;23(3):1271.
doi: 10.3390/s23031271.

Design of Laboratory Stand for Displacement Measurement of IPMC Actuators

Karina Koślik  1 , Paweł Kowol  1 , Rafał Brociek  2 , Agata Wajda  3 , Grazia Lo Sciuto  1   4
Affiliations

Design of Laboratory Stand for Displacement Measurement of IPMC Actuators

Karina Koślik et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

The polymer technology based on Electroactive polymers and metal composite ionic polymer has great potential and advantages in many engineering fields. In this paper, a laboratory stand for testing Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMC) is presented. The laboratory station includes a power supply system and a measuring system for the displacement of IPMC composites. Tests and measurements are carried out using a laser transducer and a camera equipped with image analysis software to determine the IPMC strips displacement. The experimental investigation of IPMCs under different voltage supplies and waveforms, environmental working humidity conditions, temperature, and loading conditions has proved the significant influence of geometric dimension and the effect of increased stress on the displacement value. For materials powered by a higher voltage value, an increased deflection value was noted. In case of displacement, longer is the sample, higher is the displacement value. The length of the sample under load, affects adversely its performance, resulting in an increase in the load on the sample. For samples of a thick size, a more stable movement with and without load can be noticed.

Keywords: displacement measurement; electrical characterization; ionic electroactive polymers; thermal camera.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Tested electroactive polymers (a) and the test stand (b).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The region of the tested electroactive polymer IPMC based on Nafion/Pt under the Keyence Digital Microscope was examined. The analysis of the mass spectra of the IPMC has provided and has localized the spatial distribution of specific molecules and compositional in % of carbon, silicon powders, oxygen, platinum and fluorine (1 μm) (a) and Surface morphology of IPMC material (20 μm) (b).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Designed measuring test stand front view (a) and measurement conducted with a laser transducer (b).
Figure 4
Figure 4
The displacement values for strip samples that had produced good results when powered by an external source and by a battery.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Displacement values determined by computer method for sample 1 (a) and for sample 2 (b).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Displacement measurement of the tested polymers under load conducted in laboratory.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Displacement values of electroactive sample 1 under load (a) and electroactive sample 2 (b).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Implemented system with thermal imaging camera (a) and measurements carried out by thermal imaging camera for 20 and 60 s on strip (b).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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