Ion-exchange-metal composite artificial muscle actuator load characterization and modeling

Reported in this work are load characterization of electroactive films made out of polymeric ion-exchange membrane materials treated with a noble metal such as platinum. Load characterization under oscillating voltage input on the resulting composite samples was then performed using a PC-platform data acquisition system, variable signal generator, amplifier and load cells. For fixed signal frequency, various shape signals at low voltage amplitudes were then applied and the corresponding induced forces measured by the load cells and recorded via the data acquisition setup. The applied input signals consisted of sinusoid, square, saw tooth, and triangular form in order to observe the difference in behavior and the resulting output forces of the actuators. A brief description of a proposed theory for this type of actuator was then discussed. The results showed that these actuators exhibit good force to weight characteristics in the presence of low applied voltages.