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ADVANCED MATERIALS AND POLYMER SCIENCE
SEPARATION TECHNIQUES
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International Conference on
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Volume 2
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alliedacademies.comYEARS
Chiba S, Mater Sci Nanotechnol 2018, Volume 2
ELECTROACTIVE POLYMER
TRANSDUCERS
E
lectroactive polymer transducers have many features that are desirable for
various devices. An especially attractive type of electroactive polymer is
dielectric elastomer (DE). DEs are a new type of transducer technology that were
first investigated by SRI International in 1991. DE has a very simple structure
comprised of a polymer film (elastomer) sandwiched between two electrodes
made of a flexible and elastic material. Applying a voltage difference between
the two electrodes causes a compression in the horizontal direction and a
stretching along the surface. As elastomers are light and deform like rubbers,
they can show flexible movements like bionic actions. They can express
“flexible and natural feeling” which systems with motors cannot imitate. In
addition to above, DE actuators do not use any gears and cams, thus enabling
high efficiency and safe and smooth driving even if the speed or direction of
movement are suddenly changed. Using DE elements, a variety of devices can
easily be made, such as linear actuators, diaphragm actuators for fluid pumps,
and actuator arrays. Its low cost, light weight, softness, high efficiency, and
quietness make the actuator suitable for robots, motors, speakers, and smart
materials. The DE actuator has a fast speed of response (over 100,000 Hz has
been demonstrated for small strains), with a high strain rate (up to 600%). Our
recent progress is a DE actuator having only 0.1 g of DE that lifted a weight
of 22N using single CNT electrodes. This is suitable for the hands or feet of
robots. We also developed a ribbon form DE actuator having a sensor function
that can be used to measure force, or pressure, as well as motion at the same
time. This actuator can assist human and robot motions. At the same time,
it can work as a motion feedback sensor. We hope that it may be useful for
smart rehabilitation equipment for hands, legs, and fingers. DE has also been
shown to operate in reverse as a generator. Experiments have been performed
on portable DE generators powered by human motion, ocean wave power
harvesters mounted on buoys, solar heat generators, and water turbines. The
power output levels of such demonstration devices are small now. However,
the performance of these devices has supported the potential benefits. We
are starting to develop elastomers having larger dielectric constant to produce
a “super artificial muscle for excellent sensors, powerful energy harvesting
devices, and DE motors can drive vehicles.
Biography
Chiba S was Executive Director for Advanced R&D
Project Development, SRI International. He served
on SRI for 22 years. He was supervising advanced
R&D programs including Japanese Government
projects. Currently, he is CEO and Professor, Chiba
Science Institute. He has published more than 367
papers in the various areas and has been serving as
Editorial Board Member of AWMC, Industrial Engi-
neering and Management, Industrial Engineering
and Management, Steel Structures and Construc-
tion, and Journal of Material Science. He has a PhD
in Metallurgy and Material Science from the Univer-
sity of Wales.
epam@hyperdriv
web.comChiba S
Chiba Science Institute, Japan