Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
3.9
2.2
Journals
Actuators
Special Issues
Polymeric Actuators 2020
share announcement

Polymeric Actuators 2020

A special issue of Actuators (ISSN 2076-0825).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 14623

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Salvatore Graziani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering (DIEEI), University of Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy
Interests: artificial intelligence; neural networks; soft sensors; ionic polymeric transducers; sensor modelling and characterization; mechanical sensors; energy harvesting; smart materials; smart sensing systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Alvo Aabloo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Interests: ion conductive polymeric materials; multiscale modelling; robotics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Challenges imposed by changes in society and environment require the development of Smart Systems. Active prostheses will, e.g., help the rehabilitation of patients. Drug delivering systems will release drugs, on the basis of well-established protocols. Bio-inspired underwater robots will take care of repetitive or dangerous tasks. Polymeric actuators have been already proposed for the realization of Smart Systems, able to solve even the most complex problems with little or no human intervention, in strategic sectors, such as bio-inspired robotics, aerospace and nanomedicine, just to name a few. Nevertheless, further improvements are needed for realizing polymeric smart autonomous systems and wearable electronics. Smart Systems require embedding sensing and actuating capabilities, signal processing, and electric power generation and management. Flexibility, stretchability, and resiliency are required since Smart Systems will work in unstructured and harsh environments. Moreover, the need for sustainable development requires the realization of environmentally-friendly systems. Miniaturized and biocompatible systems are required for implanted applications.

"More than Moore" solutions will complement silicon-based devices: New materials are needed for guaranteeing a significant diversification, based on novel materials and technologies. Nanotechnologies will be exploited for producing new polymeric materials. Finally, the Industry 4.0 prosumer will be enabled to design and fabricate their own polymeric smart systems. A multidisciplinary approach is required for developing enabling technologies required in such a new scenario.

The realization of the next-generation Smart Systems requires, then, new actuators and stimulus-responsive polymers. It will be necessary to develop new materials, models, production procedures, functional subsystems, design tools, and fabrication systems. Procedures and apparatus for the characterization and validation of such smart systems are also needed.

Prof. Dr. Salvatore Graziani
Prof. Dr. Alvo Aabloo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Actuators is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • polymeric actuators
  • nanocomposites
  • green chemistry
  • eco friendly materials
  • biocompatible materials
  • multiplysic models
  • medicine
  • nanomedicine
  • aerospace
  • robotics
  • bio-inspired robotics
  • smart systems

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

10 pages, 2473 KiB  
Article
High-Speed, Helical and Self-Coiled Dielectric Polymer Actuator
by Johannes Mersch, Markus Koenigsdorff, Andreas Nocke, Chokri Cherif and Gerald Gerlach
Actuators 2021, 10(1), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/act10010015 - 15 Jan 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4390
Abstract
Novel actuator materials are necessary to advance the field of soft robotics. However, since current solutions are limited in terms of strain, strain rate, or robustness, a new actuator type was developed. In its basic configuration, this actuator consisted of four layers and [...] Read more.
Novel actuator materials are necessary to advance the field of soft robotics. However, since current solutions are limited in terms of strain, strain rate, or robustness, a new actuator type was developed. In its basic configuration, this actuator consisted of four layers and self-coiled into a helix after pre-stretching. The actuator principle was a dielectric polymer actuator. Instead of an elastomer, a thin thermoplastic film, in this case polyethylene, was used as the dielectric and the typically low potential strain was amplified more than 40 times by the helical set-up. In a hot press, the thermoplastic film was joined together with layers of carbon black employed as electrodes and a highly elastic thermoplastic polyurethane film. Once the stack was laser cut into thin strips, they were then stretched over the polyethylene (PE) film’s limit of elasticity and released, thus forming a helix. The manufactured prototype showed a maximum strain of 2% while lifting six times its own weight at actuation frequencies of 3 Hz, which is equivalent to a strain rate of 12%/s. This shows the great potential of the newly developed actuator type. Nevertheless, materials, geometry as well as the manufacturing process are still subject to optimization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Actuators 2020)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2272 KiB  
Article
A Modeling of Twisted and Coiled Polymer Artificial Muscles Based on Elastic Rod Theory
by Chunbing Wu and Wen Zheng
Actuators 2020, 9(2), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/act9020025 - 7 Apr 2020
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 9361
Abstract
Twisted and coiled polymer (TCP) can generate large stroke and output high power density, making it a promising artificial muscle. Thermally induced muscles fabricated from nylon or other polymer fibers can be used in robotic, biomedical devices, and energy-harvesting equipment. While fibers with [...] Read more.
Twisted and coiled polymer (TCP) can generate large stroke and output high power density, making it a promising artificial muscle. Thermally induced muscles fabricated from nylon or other polymer fibers can be used in robotic, biomedical devices, and energy-harvesting equipment. While fibers with different shapes and materials have different optimal process parameters. Understanding mechanisms of TCP forming and the impact of process parameters is critical to explore stronger, more powerful artificial muscles. In this paper, an elastic-rod-theory-based model was established for capturing the quantitative relationship between tensile actuation and fabrication load. Further experimental results agree with model calculation and TCP muscles used in our research reaches maximum stroke of 52.6%, strain up to 9.8 MPa, and power density of 211.89 J/kg. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Actuators 2020)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop