Deflection Simulation of Ionic Polymer Metal Composites (IPMC) Actuators for Bionic Knee Joints

摘要

Ionic Polymer Composite Material (IPMC) is a new type of smart material which has the capability of activation under the application of a small voltage. It is flexible; light weighed, produces high force and can be activated in any two opposite directions. These benefits have inspired the scientists and researchers to explore its availability for real-world applications in various fields. In this paper, the application of IPMC has been considered for the provision of required force to the movement of a grasshopper knee joint for the upward or stretching movement by the knee. In other words, it has been proposed to act as an artificial muscle for the mentioned job. Furthermore, simulation is carried out for two separate conditions of the weight ratios of the weight of the leg and that of the IPMC strip and simulation is carried out to clarify the relation between the force and deflection. The simulation is based on mathematical model that has been previously developed. Analysis of the simulation results of the two conditions indicated that more force is required to move a heavier leg by a certain amount of angle as compared to the force requirement for moving a lighter leg. This paper represents the simulation results for the upward movement of the link; however the same model and its simulation can be applied to that of the reverse direction because of the unanimity of the material properties and specifications.