Journal ArticleDOI
Energy harvesting from the tail beating of a carangiform swimmer using ionic polymer-metal composites.
Youngsu Cha,Matteo Verotti,Horace Walcott,Sean D. Peterson,Sean D. Peterson,Maurizio Porfiri +5 more
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TLDR
A modeling framework for the underwater vibration of the biomimetic tail is proposed, wherein the tail is assimilated to a cantilever beam with rectangular cross section and heterogeneous physical properties and the effect of the encompassing fluid is described through a hydrodynamic function.Abstract:
In this paper, we study energy harvesting from the beating of a biomimetic fish tail using ionic polymer–metal composites. The design of the biomimetic tail is based on carangiform swimmers and is specifically inspired by the morphology of the heterocercal tail of thresher sharks. The tail is constituted of a soft silicone matrix molded in the form of the heterocercal tail and reinforced by a steel beam of rectangular cross section. We propose a modeling framework for the underwater vibration of the biomimetic tail, wherein the tail is assimilated to a cantilever beam with rectangular cross section and heterogeneous physical properties. We focus on base excitation in the form of a superimposed rotation about a fixed axis and we consider the regime of moderately large-amplitude vibrations. In this context, the effect of the encompassing fluid is described through a hydrodynamic function, which accounts for inertial, viscous and convective phenomena. The model is validated through experiments in which the base excitation is systematically varied and the motion of selected points on the biomimetic tail tracked in time. The feasibility of harvesting energy from an ionic polymer–metal composite attached to the vibrating structure is experimentally and theoretically assessed. The response of the transducer is described using a black-box model, where the voltage output is controlled by the rate of change of the mean curvature. Experiments are performed to elucidate the impact of the shunting resistance, the frequency of the base excitation and the placement of the ionic polymer–metal composite on energy harvesting from the considered biomimetic tail.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Mechanics and electrochemistry of ionic polymer metal composites
Youngsu Cha,Maurizio Porfiri +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the moment and charge stored along the IPMC are computed from the solution of a modified Poisson-Nernst-Planck system, in terms of the through-the-thickness coordinate.
Journal ArticleDOI
Energy harvesting from a piezoelectric biomimetic fish tail
Youngsu Cha,Woojin Chae,Hubert Kim,Horace Walcott,Sean D. Peterson,Sean D. Peterson,Maurizio Porfiri +6 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the feasibility of underwater energy harvesting from the vibrations of a biomimetic fish tail though piezoelectric materials, and propose and experimentally validate a modeling framework to predict the underwater vibration of the tail and the associated response.
Journal ArticleDOI
Encapsulation of ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) sensors with thick parylene: Fabrication process and characterization results
Hong Lei,Wen Li,Xiaobo Tan +2 more
TL;DR: In this paper, a parylene C coating for IPMC sensors is proposed, which can effectively keep the water content inside the IPMC, isolate the sensor from various ambient environments, and maintain the sensing consistency.
Journal ArticleDOI
Energy harvesting from underwater base excitation of a piezoelectric composite beam
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate energy harvesting from underwater base excitation of a piezoelectric composite beam and find that increasing the wet length produces a consistent reduction of the resonance frequency and the quality factor of underwater vibrations.
Journal ArticleDOI
A comprehensive review of select smart polymeric and gel actuators for soft mechatronics and robotics applications: fundamentals, freeform fabrication, and motion control
TL;DR: This paper provides a thorough review of select smart polymeric and gel actuator materials where an automated and freeform fabrication process, like 3D printing, is exploited to create custom shaped monolithic devices.
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, a closed-form analytical solution for a unimorph cantilever under base excitation based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam assumptions is presented, and the performance of the bimorph device is analyzed extensively for the short circuit and open circuit resonance frequency excitations.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ionic polymer-metal composites: I. Fundamentals
Mohsen Shahinpoor,Kwang J. Kim +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the fundamental properties and characteristics of ionic polymeric-metal composites (IPMCs) as biomimetic sensors, actuators and artificial muscles are discussed.