Ionic Polymer-metal Composites for Underwater Operation

Abstract

The ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) for flexible hydrodynamic propulsor blades can provide many new opportunities in navy platforms, especially in unmanned, robotic vehicles used in surveillance and combat. When in operation, the IPMC materials are very quiet since they have no vibration causing components, i.e., gears, motors, shafts, etc. For small autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), this feature is truly attractive. IPMCs are friendly to solid-state electronics and have digital programming capabilities; thus, active control is possible. Another advantage of these materials is that they can be operational in a self-oscillatory manner. However, there are several issues that still need to be addressed: propulsor design, testing, robotic control, and the theoretical modeling of the appropriate design. Currently, the IPMC is being investigated for propulsor blade applications and a propulsor model with a robust control scheme. An analytical model of a segmented IPMC propulsor was formulated to be a building block for accommodating the relaxation behavior of IPMCs and for describing the dynamics of the flexible IPMC bending actuator.

Keywords

ionic polymer-metal composite autonomous underwater vehicles

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Asaka, K. and Oguro, K. 2000. “Bending of Polyelectrolyte Membrane Platinum Composites by Electric Stimuli: Part II. Response Kinetics,” Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 480: 186-198 .

Bandyopadhyay, P. R. , Krol, W. P. , Thivierge, D. P. , Nedderman, W. H. and Mojarrad, M. 2002. “A Biomimetic Propulsor for Active Noise Control: Experiments,” NUWC-NPT Technical Report, 11: 351-351 .

Bao, X. , Bar-Cohen, Y. and Lih, S.-S. 2002. “Measurements and Macro Models of Ionomeric Polymer-metal Composites (IPMC),” In: Proceedings of the SPIE Smart Structures and Materials Symposium, EAPAD Conference, San Diego, CA, Mar. 18 - Mar. 21, pp. 220-227 .

Belmonta, C. , Ferrigno, R. , Leclerc, O. and Girault, H. H. 1998. “Coplanar Interdigitated Band Electrodes for Electrosynthesis, Part 4: Application to Sea Water Electrolysis,” Electrochimica Acta, 44: 597-603 .

De Genes, P. G. , Okumura, K. , Shahinpoor, M. and Kim, K. J. 2000. “Mechanoelectric Effects in Ionic Gels,” Euro Physics Letters, 50(4): 513-518 .

Kim, K. J. and Shahinpoor, M. 2002a. “Application of Polyelectrolyte in Ionic Polymeric Sensors, Actuators, and Artificial Muscles,” In: Treaty, S. , Kumar, J. and Malawi, H. S. (eds), Review Chapter in Handbook of Polyelectrolyte, Chap. 1., Vol. 3, American Scientific Publishers (ASP) .

Kim, K. J. and Shahinpoor, M. 2002b. “Development of Three Dimensional Ionic Polymer-metal Composites as Artificial Muscles,” Polymer, 43(3): 797-802 .

Kim, K. J. and Shahinpoor, M. 2003a. “Effective Diffusivity of Nan Scale Ion-water Clusters within Ion-exchange Membranes Determined by a Novel Mechanic-electric Technique,” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 28(1): 85-90 .

Kim, K. J. and Shahinpoor, M. 2003b. “Ionic Polymer-metal Composites - II. Manufacturing Techniques,” Smart Materials and Structures, 12(1): 65-79 .

10.

Mallavarapu, K. , Newbury, K. and Leo, D. 2001. “Feedback Control of the Bending Response of Ionic Polymer-metal Composite Actuators,” In: Proceedings of Smart Structures and Materials 2001-Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices, Vol. 4329, pp. 301-310 .

11.

Nemat-Nasser, S. 2002. “Micromechanics of Actuation of Ionic Polymer-metal Composites,” Journal of Applied Physics, 92(5): 2899-2910 .

12.

Newbury, K. M. and Leo, D. 2001. “Mechanical Work and Electromechanical Coupling in Ionic Polymer Bender Actuators,” In: Proceedings of the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Paper Number AD-23705.

13.

Oguro, K., Asaka, K. and Takenaka, H. 1993. “Actuator Element,” US Patent, #5,268,082.

14.

Paquette, J. W. , Kim, K. J. , Nam, J.-D. and Tak, Y. S. 2003. “An Equivalent Circuit Model for Ionic Polymer-metal Composites and Their Performance Improvement by a Clay-based Polymer Nano-composite Technique,” Journal Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, 14(10): 643-656 .

15.

Paquette, J. and Kim, K. J. 2004. “Ionomeric Electro-active Polymer Artificial Muscle for Naval Applications,” IEEE Journal of Ocean Engineering (JOE), 29(3): 729-737 .

16.

Paquette, J. D. , Kim, K. J. and Kim, D. 2005a. “Low Temperature Characteristics of Ionic Polymer-metal Composite Actuators,” Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 118: 135-143 .

17.

Paquette, J. W. , Kim, K. J. , Kim, D. and Yim, W. 2005b. “The Behavior of Ionic Polymer-metal Composites in a Multi-layer Configuration,” Smart Materials and Structures, 14: 881-888 .

18.

Shahinpoor, M. and Kim, K. J. 2000. “The Effect of Surface-electrode Resistance on the Performance of Ionic Polymer-metal Composite (IPMC) Artificial Muscles,” Smart Materials and Structures, 9(4): 543-551 .

19.

Shahinpoor, M. and Kim, K. J. 2001. “Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites: I. Fundamentals,” Smart Materials and Structures, 10: 1-15 .

20.

Shahinpoor, M. and Kim, K. J. 2002. “Mass Transfer Induced Hydraulic Actuation in Ionic Polymer-metal Composites,” Journal of Intelligent Materials Systems and Structures, 13(6): 369-376 .

21.

Shahinpoor, M. and Kim, K. J. 2004. “Ionic Polymer-metal Composites: III. Modeling and Simulation as Biomimetic Sensors, Actuators, Transducers, and Artificial Muscles,” Smart Materials and Structures, 13: 1362-1388 .

22.

Shahinpoor, M. and Kim, K. J. 2005. “Ionic Polymer-metal Composite-IV: Industrial and Mechanical Applications,” Smart Materials and Structures, 14: 197-214 .

23.

Turekian, K. K. 1968. Oceans, Prentice-Hall .

24.

Yim, W. , Singh, S. N. , Trabia, M. and Drysdale, M. W. 2004. “Adaptive Control of Projectile Fin Angle Using Piezoelectric Beam Actuator,” In: Proceedings of the SPIE Smart Structures and Materials Symposium, San Diego, CA, March.