Electrical Model of a Carbon-Polymer Composite (CPC) Collision Detector

We present a study of an electrical model of electromechanically active carbon-polymer composite (CPC) with carbide-derived carbon (CDC) electrodes. The major focus is on investigation of surface electrode behavior upon external bending of the material. We show that electrical impedance measured fro...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alvo Aabloo, Andres Punning, Karl Kruusamäe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2012-02-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/12/2/1950/
Description
Summary:We present a study of an electrical model of electromechanically active carbon-polymer composite (CPC) with carbide-derived carbon (CDC) electrodes. The major focus is on investigation of surface electrode behavior upon external bending of the material. We show that electrical impedance measured from the surface of the CDC-based CPC can be used to determine the curvature of the material and, hence, the tip displacement of a CPC laminate in a cantilever configuration. It is also shown that by measuring surface signals in the process of an actuator’s work-cycle, we obtain a self-sensing collision-detecting CPC actuator that can be considered as a counterpart of biomimetic vibrissae.
ISSN:1424-8220