Development of a self-actuating fibre reinforced ionic epoxy gel polymer composite

摘要

This paper investigates the potential for using epoxy hydrogels with the addition of fibre reinforcement as a self-actuating fibre reinforced polymer composite. The aim of adding fibre reinforcement is to improve the structural performance whilst maintaining the actuation potential of the system. This study has also investigated the role and function of distributed fibrous electrodes in optimizing the magnitude and rate of self-actuation. It was found that the inclusion of two-dimensional fibre reinforcement altered the actuation response of the hydrogel from a three-dimensional shape change to an orthotropic response with the actuation concentrated in the through thickness direction. Various arrangements of the fibrous electrodes proved successful in enabling actuation. A rudimentary demonstrator was constructed and tested.