Natural muscles are the actuators in most of the biological systems that are larger than a bacterium. The drive mechanism of muscles is complex, and they are capable of lifting large loads with short time response in the range of milliseconds. Electroactive polymers (EAPs) are human-made actuators that most closely emulate biological muscles, and therefore they earned the moniker ‘artificial muscles’. Initially, EAPs received relatively little attention because of their limited actuation capability. In the last 15 years, a series of EAP materials have emerged that exhibit a significant shape change in response to electrical stimulation. Using these materials as actuators, various novel mechanisms and devices were already demonstrated, including robot fish, catheter steering element, miniature gripper, loudspeaker, active diaphragm, and dust wiper. The impressive advances in improving their actuation strain capability are attracting the attention of engineers and scientists from many different disciplines. These materials are particularly attractive to biomimetic applications, because they can be used to make biologically inspired intelligent robots and other mechanisms. Increasingly, engineers are able to develop EAP-actuated mechanisms that were previously considered science fiction. This article reviews the state-of-the-art challenges and potential applications of EAP materials.


    Zugriff

    Zugriff prüfen

    Verfügbarkeit in meiner Bibliothek prüfen

    Bestellung bei Subito €


    Exportieren, teilen und zitieren



    Titel :

    Electroactive polymers as an enabling materials technology


    Beteiligte:
    Bar-Cohen, Y (Autor:in)


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2007-04-01


    Format / Umfang :

    12 pages




    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)


    Format :

    Elektronische Ressource


    Sprache :

    Englisch





    Electroactive polymers: new materials for spacecraft structures

    Carpi, F. / Sommer-Larsen, P. / De Rossi, D. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2005



    Electrospun Electroactive Polymers for Aerospace Applications

    K. J. Pawlowski / T. L. St. Clair / A. C. McReynolds et al. | NTIS | 2004


    Electrospun Electroactive Polymers for Aerospace Applications

    Pawlowski, Kristin J. / St.Clair, Tyler L. / McReynolds, Amber C. et al. | NTRS | 2003