Underwater Bending Actuator Based on Integrated Anisotropic Textile Materials and a Conductive Hydrogel Electrode
Electroactive polymers (EAPs), especially dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs), belong to a very promising and emerging class of functional materials. While DEAs are mostly utilized to rely on carbon-based electrodes, there are certain shortcomings of the use of carbon electrodes in the field of so...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Actuators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/10/10/270 |
| _version_ | 1797515625512304640 |
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| author | Sascha Pfeil Alice Mieting Rebecca Grün Konrad Katzer Johannes Mersch Cornelia Breitkopf Martina Zimmermann Gerald Gerlach |
| author_facet | Sascha Pfeil Alice Mieting Rebecca Grün Konrad Katzer Johannes Mersch Cornelia Breitkopf Martina Zimmermann Gerald Gerlach |
| author_sort | Sascha Pfeil |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Electroactive polymers (EAPs), especially dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs), belong to a very promising and emerging class of functional materials. While DEAs are mostly utilized to rely on carbon-based electrodes, there are certain shortcomings of the use of carbon electrodes in the field of soft robotics. In this work we present a fish-like bending structure to serve as possible propulsion element, completely avoiding carbon-based electrodes. The presented robot is moving under water, using a particularly tailored conductive hydrogel as inner electrode and a highly anisotropic textile material to manipulate the bending behavior of the robot. The charge separation to drive two DEAs on the outsides of the robot is provided by the conductive hydrogel while the surrounding water serves as counter electrode. To characterize the hydrogel, tensile tests and impedance spectroscopy are used as measurement methods of choice. The performance of the robot was evaluated using a digital image correlation (DIC) measurement for its bending deflections under water. The developed fish-like robot was able to perform a dynamic bending movement, based on a tri-stable actuator setup. The performed measurements underpin the sufficient characteristics for an underwater application of conductive hydrogel electrodes as well as the applicability of the robotic concept for under water actuations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:48:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-73c851a34fba41019a0b57e1102b99af |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0825 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:48:14Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Actuators |
| spelling | doaj.art-73c851a34fba41019a0b57e1102b99af2023-11-22T17:03:16ZengMDPI AGActuators2076-08252021-10-01101027010.3390/act10100270Underwater Bending Actuator Based on Integrated Anisotropic Textile Materials and a Conductive Hydrogel ElectrodeSascha Pfeil0Alice Mieting1Rebecca Grün2Konrad Katzer3Johannes Mersch4Cornelia Breitkopf5Martina Zimmermann6Gerald Gerlach7Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute of Solid-State Electronics, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, GermanyFaculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute of Solid-State Electronics, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, GermanyFaculty of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Institute of Power Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS, 01277 Dresden, GermanyFaculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute of Solid-State Electronics, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, GermanyFaculty of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Institute of Power Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS, 01277 Dresden, GermanyFaculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute of Solid-State Electronics, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, GermanyElectroactive polymers (EAPs), especially dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs), belong to a very promising and emerging class of functional materials. While DEAs are mostly utilized to rely on carbon-based electrodes, there are certain shortcomings of the use of carbon electrodes in the field of soft robotics. In this work we present a fish-like bending structure to serve as possible propulsion element, completely avoiding carbon-based electrodes. The presented robot is moving under water, using a particularly tailored conductive hydrogel as inner electrode and a highly anisotropic textile material to manipulate the bending behavior of the robot. The charge separation to drive two DEAs on the outsides of the robot is provided by the conductive hydrogel while the surrounding water serves as counter electrode. To characterize the hydrogel, tensile tests and impedance spectroscopy are used as measurement methods of choice. The performance of the robot was evaluated using a digital image correlation (DIC) measurement for its bending deflections under water. The developed fish-like robot was able to perform a dynamic bending movement, based on a tri-stable actuator setup. The performed measurements underpin the sufficient characteristics for an underwater application of conductive hydrogel electrodes as well as the applicability of the robotic concept for under water actuations.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/10/10/270biomimeticsdielectric elastomer actuatorshydrogel electrodestextile reinforcementsoft roboticsfish fin robot |
| spellingShingle | Sascha Pfeil Alice Mieting Rebecca Grün Konrad Katzer Johannes Mersch Cornelia Breitkopf Martina Zimmermann Gerald Gerlach Underwater Bending Actuator Based on Integrated Anisotropic Textile Materials and a Conductive Hydrogel Electrode Actuators biomimetics dielectric elastomer actuators hydrogel electrodes textile reinforcement soft robotics fish fin robot |
| title | Underwater Bending Actuator Based on Integrated Anisotropic Textile Materials and a Conductive Hydrogel Electrode |
| title_full | Underwater Bending Actuator Based on Integrated Anisotropic Textile Materials and a Conductive Hydrogel Electrode |
| title_fullStr | Underwater Bending Actuator Based on Integrated Anisotropic Textile Materials and a Conductive Hydrogel Electrode |
| title_full_unstemmed | Underwater Bending Actuator Based on Integrated Anisotropic Textile Materials and a Conductive Hydrogel Electrode |
| title_short | Underwater Bending Actuator Based on Integrated Anisotropic Textile Materials and a Conductive Hydrogel Electrode |
| title_sort | underwater bending actuator based on integrated anisotropic textile materials and a conductive hydrogel electrode |
| topic | biomimetics dielectric elastomer actuators hydrogel electrodes textile reinforcement soft robotics fish fin robot |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/10/10/270 |
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