Electroactive Polymer (EAP) for Actuators and Sensors Applications
A special issue of Actuators (ISSN 2076-0825). This special issue belongs to the section "Actuator Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2025) | Viewed by 1674
Special Issue Editor
Interests: electroactive polymers; sensors; actuators; additive manufacturing; flexible circuits
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Electroactive polymers or EAPs are materials capable of converting electrical energy into mechanical energy and vice versa. EAPS are commonly used as either sensors or actuators. They are of great interest due to their large deformations under load in comparison to more traditional ceramic-based actuators. EAPs are primarily divided into two main categories, dielectric and ionic. Dielectric EAPs are constructed fundamentally as a parallel plate capacitor and require very high voltages (thousands of volts) with low currents (microAmps of current) for actuation. Overall, dielectric EAPs represent a subclass of low power actuators with large deformations, but they have specific electrical power requirements to meet these goals. Due to their inherent capacitance-based design, they are also ideal for capacitance-based sensing, including changes in pressure, load, or electrical properties. Dielectric EAPs have high applicability in robotic applications due to their high deformations, ability to hold load under DC power, and inherent sensing capabilities. Ionic EAPs are a second subclass deformity caused by the flow of ions in the material when induced by an electric field. Ionic EAPs require low voltage (only a few volts) but also require a liquid environment for an actuation-limiting field of application. However, novel encapsulation methods have been developed, thus expanding their application range. These materials are ideal for application in aqueous environments, such as in biological systems. Overall, the field of EAPs has seen substantial growth as new materials and manufacturing methods are developed and the use of robotic solutions increases.
Dr. Brittany Newell
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- capacitance-based sensing
- electroactive polymers
- EAPs
- dielectrics
- ionic EAPs
- actuators
- sensors
- large deformation
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