Electroactive-Polymer Actuators for Controlling Space Inflatable Structures

摘要

Space inflatable structures present a unique challenge to the design of actuators that can be used to effectively control the surface contour of the structures for the purposes of health monitoring and damage detection. Any actuator designed for space inflatable must be highly flexible and have low mass so that the structural integrity of the inflatable will not be severely compromised by the attachment of the actuator. Among current actuator designs, electroactive-polymer-based actuators are the most promising ones. Electroactive polymer is a new class of "smart" material that can convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. Ionic polymer metal composites and conductive polymers, which belong to the electroactive polymer group, can be effective actuation materials because of their low activation voltage of about 5 V and potentially large strains. Both types of actuators were fabricated, and their stress and strain outputs evaluated for use on inflatable structures.