This thesis describes the use of an ultrasonic goal-seeking algorithm while using ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC), an electroactive polymer, as the actuator to drive a vessel towards a goal. The signal transmitting and receiving circuits as well as the goal seeking algorithm are described in detail. Two test vessels were created; one was a larger vessel that contained all necessary components for autonomy. The second was a smaller vessel that contained only the sensors and IPMC strips, and all power and signals were transmitted via an umbilical cord. To increase the propulsive efforts of the second, smaller vessel, fins were added to the IPMC strips, increasing the surface area over 700%, determined to yield a 22-fold force increase. After extensive testing, it was found that the three IPMC strips, used as oscillating fins, could not generate enough propulsion to move either vessel, with or without fins. With the addition of fins, the oscillating frequency was reduced from 0.86-Hz to 0.25-Hz. However, the goal-seeking algorithm was successful in guiding the vessel towards the target, an ultrasonic transmitter. When moved manually according to the instructions given by the algorithm, the vessel successfully reached the goal. Using assumptions based on prior experiments regarding the speed of an IPMC propelled vessel, the trial in which the goal was to the left of the axis required 18.2% more time to arrive at the goal than the trial in which the goal was to the right. This significant difference is due to the goal-seeking algorithm’s means to acquire the strongest signal. After the research had concluded and the propulsors failed to yield desired results, many factors were considered to rationalize the observations. The operating frequency was reduced, and it was found that, by the impulse-momentum theorem, that the propulsive force was reduced proportionally. The literature surveyed addressed undulatory motion, which produces constant propulsive force, not oscillatory, which yields intermittent propulsive force. These reasons among others were produced to rationalize the results and prove the cause of negative results was inherent to the actuators themselves. All rational options have been considered to yield positive results.

Ionic polymer transducers are a class of electroactive polymer materials that exhibit coupling between the electrical, chemical, and mechanical domains. With the ability for use as both sensors and actuators, these compliant, light weight, low voltage materials have the potential to benefit diverse application areas. Since the transduction properties of these materials were recently discovered, full understanding of their dynamic characteristics has not yet been achieved. This research has the goal of better understanding the actuation response of ionic polymers. A specific emphasis has been placed on investigating the observed nonlinear behavior because the existing proposed models do not account for these characteristics. Employing the Volterra representation, harmonic ratio analysis, and multisine excitations, characterization results for cantilever samples showed that the nonlinearity is dynamic and input-dependent, dominant at low frequencies, and that its influence varies depending on the solvent. It was determined that lower viscosity solvents trigger the nonlinear mechanisms at higher frequencies. Additionally, the primary components of the harmonic distortion appear to result from quadratic and cubic nonlinearities. Using knowledge gained from the characterization study, the utility of different candidate system structures was explored to model these nonlinear response characteristics. The ideal structure for modeling the current-controlled voltage and tip velocity was shown to consist of an underlying linear system with a dynamic input nonlinearity. The input nonlinearity is composed of a parallel connection of linear and nonlinear terms, where each nonlinear element has the form of a Hammerstein system. This system structure was validated against data from measured time and frequency responses. As a potential application, and consequently further validation of the chosen model structure, a square-plate polymer actuator was considered. In this study, the plate was clamped at the four corners where a uniform input was applied, measuring the center-point displacement. Characterization and modeling were performed on this system, with results similar to the cantilever sample. Applying output feedback control, in the form of proportional-integral compensation, showed that accurate tracking performance could be achieved in the presence of nonlinear distortions. Special attention was extended here to the potential application in deformable mirror systems. / Ph. D.

Ionic polymer materials are a class of electroactive polymers that have been used in recent applications that take advantage of their large bending deflection. Although these materials have been around since the 1960s, it has only been in the last decade that their electromechanical coupling has been discovered. Because their life as a transducer has been relatively short, the underlying mechanisms for their mechanical motion have not yet been fully characterized. Modeling has been performed with ionic polymers, but there is no existing model, to date, that explains all the physical phenomena associated them. The work presented in this document will contribute to the characterization of these materials. To better understand the dehydration effect of ionic polymers operating in an open air environment, research was performed to help characterize this effect. Through the use of frequency response analysis, trends were established showing how the material's response characteristics varied with time, as the polymer dehydrated. These tests were also run at different humidity levels to assess the impact environmental conditions had on the response. It was shown that lower humidity levels cause the system parameters to shift at a higher rate. The two configurations tested were clamped-free and clamped-clamped, in an effort to bound the performance of the actuators for engineering applications. The clamped-clamped condition also facilitated applying tension to the polymers for evaluation of the dehydrating effects. Several comparisons to beam theory were made throughout the analysis, using it as a baseline condition illustrator. Though qualitative results were obtained with the polymers, there was much discrepancy in quantitative measures. This was to be expected though, because ionic polymers are composite actuators that exhibit nonlinear behavior, while uniform beams are linear. Environmental testing was not all that was done, however. Control techniques were applied to improve the closed-loop performance of the actuators. Using proportional-integral control, it was demonstrated that ionic polymers are capable of tracking reference inputs better than it was previously thought. This result will validate future experimentation with ionic polymers for micro-manipulation applications. The simplicity of integral control also eliminated the need for cumbersome model derivations and control system designs, reducing the time necessary to implement and test an actuator. Through the use of this control algorithm, the closed-loop bandwidth was also characterized for the cantilever and clamped-clamped polymers. / Master of Science

This thesis presents work done to improve the switching speed and contrast performance of electrochromic devices. Layer-by-Layer (LbL) assembly was used to deposit thin electrochromic films of materials ranging from organic, inorganic, conducting polymers, etc. The focus was on developing new materials with high contrast and long lifecycles. A detailed switching-speed study of solid-state EC devices of already-developed (PEDOT (Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)), polyviologen, inorganic) materials and some new materials (Prodot-Sultone) was performed. Work was done to achieve the optimum thickness and number of bilayers in LbL films resulting in high-contrast and fast switching. Device sizes were varied for comparison of the performance of the lab-made prototype device with the commercially available "small pixel" size displays. Symmetrical EC devices were fabricated and tested whenever conducting polymers are used as an EC material. This symmetrical configuration utilizes conducting polymers as an electroactive layer on each of two ITO-coated substrates; potential is applied to the two layers of similar conducting polymers and the device changes color from one redox state to another. This method, along with LbL film assembly, are the main factors in the improvement of switching speed results over already-published work in the literature. PEDOT results show that EC devices fabricated by LbL assembly with a switching speed of less than 30 ms make EC flat-panel displays possible by adjusting film thickness, device size, and type of material. The high contrast value (84%) for RuP suggests that its LbL films can be used for low-power consumption displays where contrast, not fastest switching, is the prime importance. In addition to the electrochromic work, this thesis also includes a section on the application of LbL assembly in fabricating electromechanical bending actuators. For bending actuators based on ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs), a new class of conductive composite network (CNC) electrode was investigated, based on LbL self-assembled multilayers of conductive gold (Au) nanoparticles. The CNC of an electromechanical actuator fabricated with 100 bilayers of polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH)/Au NPs exhibits high strain value of 6.8% with an actuation speed of 0.18 seconds for a 26 µm thick IPMC with 0.4 µm thick LbL CNCs under 4 volts. / Ph. D.

This thesis presents the design and development of a novel biomimetic jellyfish robot that features ionic polymer metal composite actuators. The shape and swimming style of this underwater vehicle are based on oblate jellyfish species, which are known for their high locomotive efficiency. Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC) are used as actuators in order to contract the bell and thus propel the jellyfish robot. This research focuses on translating the evolutionary successes of the natural species into a jellyfish robot that mimics the geometry, the swimming style, and the bell deformation cycle of the natural species. Key advantages of using IPMC actuators over other forms of smart material include their ability to exhibit high strain response due to a low voltage input and their ability to act as artificial muscles in water environment. This research specifically seeks to implement IPMC actuators in a biomimetic design and overcome two main limitations of these actuators: slow response rate and the material low blocking force. The approach presented in this document is based on a combination of two main methods, first by optimizing the performance of the IPMC actuators and second by optimizing the design to fit the properties of the actuators by studying various oblate species. Ionic polymer metal composites consist of a semi-permeable membrane bounded by two conductive, high surface area electrode. The IPMCs are manufactured is several variations using the Direct Assembly Process (DAP), where the electrode architecture is controlled to optimize the strain and stiffness of the actuators. The resulting optimized actuators demonstrate peak to peak strains of 0.8 % in air and 0.7 % in water across a frequency range of 0.1-1.0 Hz and voltage amplitude of 2 V. A study of different oblate species is conducted in order to attain a model system that best fits the properties of the IPMC actuators. The Aequorea victoria is chosen based on its bell morphology and kinematic properties that match the mechanical properties of the IPMC actuators. This medusa is characterized by it low swimming frequency, small bell deformation during the contraction phase, and high Froude efficiency. The bell morphology and kinematics of the Aequorea victoria are studied through the computation of the radius of curvature and thus the strain energy stored in the during the contraction phase. The results demonstrate that the Aequorea victoria stores lower strain energy compared to the other candidate species during the contraction phase. Three consecutive jellyfish robots have been built for this research project. The first generation served as a proof of concept and swam vertically at a speed of 2.2 mm/s and consumed 3.2 W of power. The second generation mimicked the geometry and swimming style of the Aurelia aurita. By tailoring the applied voltage waveform and the flexibility of the bell, the robot swam at an average speed of 1.5 mm/s and consumed 3.5 W of power. The third and final generation mimicked the morphology, swimming behavior, and bell kinematics of the Aequorea victoria. The resulting robot, swam at an average speed of 0.77 mm/s and consumed 0.7 W of power when four actuators are used while it achieved 1.5 mm/s and 1.1 W of power consumption when eight actuators are used. Key parameter including the type of the waveform, the geometry of the bell, and position and size of the IPMC actuators are identified. These parameters can be hit later in order to further optimize the design of an IPMC based jellyfish robot. / Master of Science

This thesis focuses on the use of smart materials in microrobotic applications. The development of materials with the capabilities to mechanically respond to electrical stimuli or, at the same time, to electrically respond to mechanical stimuli, has entailed the microrobotics rapid evolution. Along this thesis the use of three smart materials families in the filed of microrobotics is studied. The materials used are the piezoelectric ceramics, the piezoelectric polymers and the ionic polymers metal composites IPMC. The similitude in the way they respond to external stimuli has motivated this study. The three materials respond with an induced mechanical strain under the application of an electric field and respond with an induced electrical charge variation when a mechanical pressure is applied. Although these materials respond similarly, their application in microrobotic systems entails different problems. In this thesis their use in different applications is studied and the problems enclosed with their use are treated. First of all in this thesis the use of piezoelectric polymers and ionic polymers as materials for motion control of microrobots is studied. Their flexibility opens the door to new applications for microrobot systems as is the case of biomimetics. The first application regards the use of piezoelectric polymers in insect-like mm3 microrobot. The microrobot is composed with three legs and one antenna or tool for object collision based on piezoelectric polymers. The object collision tool is used as a sensor for motion control to avoid collisions with other objects. The work presented consists on the development of theoretical models to predict the motion of he leg and the tool of the microrobot. The second application regards the development of a control system for controlling the motion of an ionic polymer IPMC underwater. It is difficult to obtain physical models that describe the motion of these materials, thus it is important to design control strategy to work with IPMCs. Furthermore in this thesis, the problem of manufacturing electrodes for IPMC is also treated.In the second part of the thesis the use of piezoelectric ceramics to harvest power from mechanical vibrations is studied. Piezoelectric ceramics have higher energy densities compared with other methods for power harvesting from vibrations. In comparison with the piezoelectric polymers, the piezoelectric ceramics produce voltages and current levels more acceptable. From the study performed in this thesis the conditions for a maximum power generation are obtained and an optimum electronic circuit for energy storage and management is designed. At the end of the thesis the capabilities to harvest power using ionic polymers are studied.KEY WORDS: Smart Materials, Microrobotic, Harvesting, Motion Control, Fonic Polimer, FPMC Piezoelectric, Modelling / Aquesta tesis es centra en l'ús de materials "smart" o intel·ligents en aplicacions de microrobòtica. Al llarg de la tesi treballem amb tres famílies de materials "smart" diferents: les ceràmiques piezoelèctriques, els polímers piezoelèctrics i els polímers iònics coneguts com Ionic Polymer Metal Composites (IPMC). Aquests materials tenen en comú que al aplica'ls-hi un camp elèctric pateixen una deformació mecànica mentre que si els sotmetem a una deformació mecànica, aquests materials pateixen una variació en la seva càrrega elèctrica interna. Degut a aquestes propietats aquests materials poden ser utilitzats com a sensors o com a actuadors. A la primera part de la tesi estudiem l'ús dels polímers piezoelèctrics i dels polímers iònics per al control del moviment dels microrobots. La primera aplicació que es presenta tracta d'un microrobot de dimensions mm3 que utilitza els polímers piezoelèctrics com a potes i com a sensors de col·lisió. Tot seguit presentem una aplicació a on els IPMCs són utilitzats com a microposicionadors treballant sota de l'aigua. A la segona part de la tesis estudiem la viabilitat d'utilitzar les ceràmiques piezoelèctriques i els polímers iònics per a generar energia a partir de vibracions mecàniques residuals ambientals. L'estudi presentat determina els nivells de potència generats i les condicions òptimes per a la generació de la màxima potencia.

The overall goal of this investigation was to elucidate specific structure-property relationships in perfluorosulfonate ionomers (PFSIs)-related materials. The project can be broken into two primary foci. First, we explored the current state of understanding related to morphology-property relationships in PFSIs with specific attention to the nano-scale organization of the ionic and crystalline domains. Specifically, the effect of uniaxial orientation on the structure and transport properties of Nafion® membranes was examined. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments on dry membranes that were uniaxially elongated showed a strong anisotropic morphology which was shown to persist over the swelling process without a significant relaxation. Herman's order parameters for the ionomer peak were strongly influenced by uniaxial deformation, which supports the presence of cylindrical rather than spherical morphology for ionic domains. Comparison of the water diffusion coefficients between unoriented and oriented samples revealed that uniaxial deformation of Nafion® membranes essentially enhances transport ability in one direction (i.e., the parallel to draw direction) and suppresses in the other two directions (i.e., two orthogonal directions relative to the stretching direction). Based on 1-dimensional analyses of oriented SAXS patterns at the azimuthal angle 90o, three recent models (lamellar model, semicrystalline rod-like model and fringed-micelle model) for the morphology of PFSIs were critically evaluated. The loss of meridional scattering, different orientation behavior of the crystalline and ionic domains, and inherent chain stiffness precludes the possibility of a chain-folded lamellar morphology. While the inter-aggregate dimensions remain constant at high draw ratios, the inter-crystalline spacings decrease significantly. Coupled with the distinctly different orientation behavior, these observations preclude the existence of crystallites solely within rod-like aggregates. While the worm-like ionic channel model was able to explain the behavior of SAXS and wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) relatively well, this model also had limitations such as (1) crystalline domains directly linked to the ionic domain (and thus a lack of amorphous domains) and (2) a presence of only a single ionic channel between two neighboring crystallites. Second, electroactive materials, specifically ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) that undergo bending motions with the stimulus of a relatively weak electric field were fabricated. To understand the role of the nanoscale morphology of the membrane matrix in affecting the actuation behavior of IPMC systems, we evaluated actuation performance of IPMCs subjected to uniaxial orientation. The PFSI nanostructure altered by uniaxial orientation mimicked the fibrillar structure of biological muscle tissue and yielded a new anisotropic actuation response. It was evident that IPMCs cut from films oriented perpendicular to the draw direction yielded displacement values that were significantly greater than that of unoriented IPMCs. In contrast, IPMCs cut from films oriented parallel to the draw direction appeared to resist bending and yield displacement values that were much less than that of the unoriented IPMC. This anisotropic actuation behavior was attributed to the contribution of the nanoscale morphology to the bulk bending modulus. Overall, this study clearly demonstrated, for the first time, the importance of the nanoscale morphology in affecting/controlling the actuation behavior in IPMC systems. / Ph. D.

An ionic polymer actuator consists of a thin Nafion-117 sheet plated with gold or platinum on both sides. An ionic polymer actuator undergoes large deformation in the presence of low applied voltage across its thickness and exhibits low impedance. They can also be used as large displacement sensors by bending them to induce stresses and generate a voltage response. They operate best in a humid environment. Ionic polymer actuators have been used for various practical applications such as bio-mimetic robotic propulsion, flexible low mass robotic arms, propellors for swimming robotic structures, linear and platform type robotic actuators and active catheter systems. One of the disadvantages of ionic polymer actuators is that their settling time to a unit step voltage is on the order of 5-20 seconds in a cantilever configuration. The slow time constant of an ionic polymer limits the actuation bandwidth. The characteristics of ionic polymer actuators, low force and large displacement (as compared to other actuator technologies such as PZT or PVDF), cannot be used in applications requiring a faster response time for a given actuation signal. Due to this limitation, many applications will not be able to make use of the large displacement effectively because of the limited bandwidth of the actuator. Another disadvantage of using an ionic polymer actuator is that the stiffness of the actuator is a function of the hydration of the polymer. Difficulties in controlling the hydration, which changes with respect to time, results in inconsistencies in the mechanical response exhibited by the polymers during continual usage. Several physical models of ionic polymer actuators have been proposed. The physical phenomenon responsible for the bending is not completely understood and no clear set of principles have been able to explain the motion of the polymers completely. Physical phenomena like ionic motion, back diffusion of water and electrostatic force have been used to explain these models. This research demonstrates the use of feedback control to overcome the limitation of slow settling time. First, an empirical model of the ionic polymers developed by Kanno was modified by studying the step response of these actuators. The empirical model is used to design a feedback compensator by state space modeling techniques. Since the ionic polymer actuator has a slow settling time in the open-loop, the design objectives are to minimize the settling time and constrain the control voltage to be less than a prescribed value. The controller is designed using Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) techniques which reduced the number of design parameters to one variable. Simulations are performed which show settling times of 0.03 seconds for closed-loop feedback control are possible as compared to the open-loop settling time of 16-18 seconds. The maximum control voltage varied from 1.2 Volts to 3.5 Volts depending on the LQR design parameter. The controller is implemented and results obtained are consistent with the simulations. Closed-loop settling time is observed to be 4-8 seconds and the ratio of the peak response to the steady-state response is reduced by an order of magnitude. Discrepancies between the experiment and the simulations are attributed to the inconsistencies in the resonant frequency of the actuator. Experiments demonstrate that changes in the surface hydration of the polymer result in 20\% variations in the actuator resonance. Variations in the actuator resonance require a more conservative compensator design, thus limiting the performance of the feedback control system. / Master of Science

Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC) are a new class of smart materials that have attractive characteristics such as muscle like softness, low voltage and power consumption, and good performance in aqueous environments. Therefore, there is a significant motivation for research on design and development of IPMC based biomimetic propulsion systems for underwater vehicles. In aerospace, underwater vehicles finds application for forensic studies of spaceship wrecks, missile fragments and any airplane accidents in sea and ocean terrains. Such vehicles can also survey moons and planets that house water oceans. Among biomimetic swimming systems, fish inspired swimming has gained interest since fish like swimming provides high maneuverability, high cruising speed, noiseless propulsion and efficient stabilization compared to conventional propulsion systems. In this work, the paired pectoral fin based oscillatory propulsion using IPMC for aquatic propulsor applications is studied. Dynamic characteristics of IPMC fin are analyzed using numerical simulations and optimization is used to improve the fin design. A complex hydrodynamic function is used to describe the behavior of an active IPMC fin actuator in water. The structural model of the IPMC fin is obtained by modifying the classical dynamic equation for a slender beam to account for the electromechanical dynamics of the IPMC beam in water. A quasi-steady blade element model that accounts for unsteady phenomena such as added mass effects, dynamic stall, and the cumulative Wagner effect is used to estimate the hydrodynamic performance of the flapping fin. It is shown that the use of optimization methods can lead to significant improvement in performance of the IPMC fin. Further, three fish species with high performance flapping pectoral fin locomotion are chosen and performance analysis of each fin design is conducted to discover the better configurations for engineering applications. Dynamic characteristics of IPMC actuated flapping fins having the same size as the actual fins of three different fish species, Gomphosus varius, Scarus frenatus and Sthethojulis trilineata, are also analyzed. Finally, a comparative study is performed to analyze the performance of the three different biomimetic IPMC flapping pectoral fins.