............................................................................................................................ vii Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 1.1 Metal Nanoparticles ...........................................................................................1 1.2 Gold Nanoparticle...

The structural performance, reliability and durability of polymer composites can now be correlated with three generic classes of internal defects. The _first generic class of chemical structure defects (size 10-lOOA) that control critical design properties such as glass transition T 0 , moisture absorption, and dimensional changes can be controlled by chemical analysis of raw materials prior to...

In order to achieve a distributed actuation in robotics and automation a novel soft actuator technology is being sought worldwide. One of the candidate technologies is based on Electroactive Polymers (EAP). The research to be done in the field of EAP actuators should cover four issues: material improvement, characterization and modeling, actuator design, and applications simulation. Advances on...

In this paper, we present a survey of sh-like propulsion at millimeter scale in order to build high eÆciency swimming microrobots. We begin with a mechanical study of the sh-like propulsion. The mechanical model we used shows that undulatory motions are more eÆcient than oscillatory motions. We applied these theoretical results to the design and the realization of a microrobot propelled by the ...

Polyacrylic acid (PAA) is an important industrial chemical, which has been extensively applied in various fields, including for several biomedical purposes. In this study, we report the synthesis and modification of this polymer with various phenol imides, such as succinimide, phthalimide and 1,8-naphthalimide. The as-synthesized derivatives were used to prepare polymer metal composites by the ...

Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) have recently received tremendous interest as soft biomimetic actuators and sensors in various bioengineering and human affinity applications, such as artificial muscles and actuators, aquatic propulsors, robotic end-effectors, and active catheters. Main challenges in developing biomimetic actuators are the attainment of high strain and actuation force at ...

The control of a flexible beam using ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs) is investigated in this paper. mechanical dynamics are modelled as Timoshenko beam. electric the IPMCs considered model. port-Hamiltonian framework used to propose an interconnected model and IPMC actuator. Furthermore, passive Hamiltonian structure-preserving linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) controller achieve desired c...

Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) consist of a perfluorinated ionomer membrane (usually Nafion or Flemion). The ionomer is plated on both faces with a noble metal such as gold or platinum. It is neutralized with a certain amount of counterions that balance the electrical charge of anions covalently fixed to the backbone membrane. IPMCs are electroactive materials that can be used as actuat...

Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) have inherent underwater sensing and actuation properties. They can be used as sensors to collect flow information. Inspired by the hair-cell mediated receptor in the lateral line system of fish, the impact of a flexible, cupula-like structure on the performance of IPMC flow sensors is experimentally explored. The fabrication method to create a silicone-ca...