Intelligent materials are a class of material systems usually consisting of a composite or hybrid material system with fibrous or distributed actuators, various sensors and a control system. One type of actuator being developed for intelligent material systems is made of nitinol or shape memory alloy wire. In order for nitinol and other actuators to be a reliable part of the system, the effect of composite manufacturing on the actuators’ performance and behavior must be determined. The results of a study investigating the effects of a "high temperature" thermoplastic composite processing cycle on the nitinol actuator’s performance is presented. A study of the interfacial strength between the actuators and APC-2 thermoplastic composite is also reported. The nitinol actuators were exposed to high temperature (400°C) composite processing cycles. Critical parameters of the processing cycles were varied to determine their effect on the actuators’ performance. After the processing cycles, the nitinol actuators demonstrated useable recovery stresses (σ_r^u) of 173-265 MPa. The σ_r^u of a nitinol actuator in the virgin state, subjected to a thermoset processing cycle, and embedded in a specimen of APC-2 thermoplastic composite was also tested to develop a basis for comparison. The quality of the actuator-composite interface bond was tested by pull-out testing and fatigue loading to determine if the actuator is adequately bonded with the host composite. Pull-out forces of 30-50 N could fracture the actuator-composite interface, but 1000 activation cycles of the actuator produced no damage in the bond between actuator and host composite. / Master of Science

The ability to convert photons into mechanical motion is of significant importance for many energy conversion and reconfigurable technologies. Establishing an optical-mechanical interface has been attempted since 1881; nevertheless, only few materials exist that can convert photons of different wavelengths into mechanical motion that is large enough for practical import. Recently, various nanomaterials including nanoparticles, nanowires, carbon nanotubes, and graphene have been used as photo-thermal agents in different polymer systems and triggered using near infrared (NIR) light for photo-thermal actuation. In general, most photomechanical actuators based on sp bonded carbon namely nanotube and graphene are triggered mainly using near infra-red light and they do not exhibit wavelength selectivity. Layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) provide intriguing opportunities to develop low cost, light and wavelength tunable stimuli responsive systems that are not possible with their conventional macroscopic counterparts. Compared to graphene, which is just a layer of carbon atoms and has no bandgap, TMDs are stacks of triple layers with transition metal layer between two chalcogen layers and they also possess an intrinsic bandgap. While the atoms within the layers are chemically bonded using covalent bonds, the triple layers can be mechanically/chemically exfoliated due to weak van der Waals bonding between the layers. Due to the large optical absorption in these materials, they are already being exploited for photocatalytic, photoluminescence, photo-transistors, and solar cell applications. The large breaking strength together with large band gap and strong light- matter interaction in these materials have resulted in plethora of investigation on electronic, optical and magnetic properties of such layered ultra-thin semiconductors. This dissertation will go in depth in the synthesis, characterization, development, and application of two- dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, with an emphasis on TMDs and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), when used as photo-thermal agents in photoactuation technologies. It will present a new class of photo-thermal actuators based on TMDs and hyperelastic elastomers with large opto-mechanical energy conversion, and investigate the layer-dependent optoelectronics and light-matter interaction in these nanomaterials and nanocomposites. Different attributes of semiconductive nanoparticles will be studied through different applications, and the possibility of globally/locally engineering the bandgap of such nanomaterials, along with its consequent effect on optomechanical properties of photo thermal actuators will be investigated. Using liquid phase exfoliation in deionized water, inks based on 2D- materials will be developed, and inkjet printing of 2D materials will be utilized as an efficient method for fast fabrication of functional devices based on nanomaterials, such as paper-graphene-based photo actuators. The scalability, simplicity, biocompatibility, and fast fabrication characteristics of the inkjet printing of 2D materials along with its applicability to a variety of substrates such as plastics and papers can potentially be implemented to fabricate high-performance devices with countless applications in soft robotics, wearable technologies, flexible electronics and optoelectronics, bio- sensing, photovoltaics, artificial skins/muscles, transparent displays and photo-detectors.

"The recent years have seen the innovative system integration of a great many actuator technologies, such as point force actuators for space vehicle applications and the use of single fire actuators; such as pyrocharges to guide a free falling bomb to it’s target. The inherent limitations of these developments, such as nonlinear behavior under extreme environments and/or prolonged/repeated usage leading to a relaxation time component between firing of actuators and inherent system power limitations, have resulted in greater need for sophisticated control algorithms that allow for optimal switching between various actuators in any given embedded configuration so as to achieve the best possible performance of the system. The objective of this investigation is to offer a proof of concept experimental verification of a real time control algorithm, which switches between online piezoelectric actuators, employed for vibration control in an aluminum beam with fixed boundary conditions. In this investigation at a given interval of time, only one actuator is activated and the rest are kept dormant. The reason is to demonstrate the better vibration alleviation characteristics realized in switching between actuators depending on the state of the system, over the use of a single actuator that is always in fire mode. This effect is particularly pronounced in controlling systems affected by spatiotemporal disturbances. The algorithm can be easily adapted for various design configurations or system requirements. The optimality of switching is with respect to the minimal cost of an LQR performance index that corresponds to each actuator. Computer simulations with repeatable disturbance profiles, revealed that this algorithm offered better performance over the non-switched case. Performance measures employed were the time varying total energy norm of the dynamic system and position traces at any particular location on the beam. This algorithm was incorporated on a dSPACE rapid prototyping platform along with suitable hardware. Experimental and simulation results are discussed. "

The present study in this thesis has attempted to resolve one of the key aspects of enhancing predictability of macroscopic behavior of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wire by considering variation of local phase inhomogeneity. Understanding of functional fatigue and its relation with the phase distribution and its passivation is the key towards tailoring thermal Shape Memory Alloy actuators’ properties and performance. Present work has been carried out in two associated areas. First part has covered solving a coupled thermo-mechanical boundary value problem where initial phase fractions are prescribed at the gauss points and subsequent evolution are tracked over the loading cycle. An incremental form of a phenomenological constitutive model has been incorporated in the modelling framework. Finite element convergence studies using both homogeneous and inhomogeneous SMA wires are performed. Effects of phase inhomogeneity are investigated for mechanical loading and thermo-electric loading. Phase inhomogeneity is simulated mainly due to process and handling quality. An example of mechanical boundary condition such as gripping indicates a negative residual strain at macroscopic behavior. Simulation accurately captures vanishing local phase inhomogeneity upon multiple cycles of thermo-mechanical loading on unconstrained straight SMA wire. In the second part, a phase identification and measurement scheme is proposed. It has been shown that by employing variation of electrical resistivity which distinctly varies with phase transformation, martensite phase volume fraction can be quantified in average sense over the length of a SMA wire. This can be easily achieved by using a simple thermo-mechanical characterization setup along with resistance measurement circuit. Local phase inhomogeneity is created in an experimental sample, which is subjected to electrical heating under constant mechanical bias load. The response shows relaxation of the initial shrinkage strain due to local phase. Results observed for thermo-electric loading on the inhomogeneous SMA wires compliment the results observed from the simulated loading cases. Several interesting features such as shrinkage of the inhomogeneous SMA wire after first loading cycle, relaxation of the residual strain over multiple loading cycles due to the presence of inhomogeneity are captured. This model promises useful applications of SMA wire in fatigue studies, SMA embedded composites and hybrid structures.

<p>Soft pneumatic actuators allow compliant force application and movement for a variety of tasks. While most soft actuators have compliance in directions perpendicular to their direction of force application, they are most often analyzed only in their direction of actuation. In this work, we show a characterization of a soft 3D printed bellows actuator that considers shear and axial deformations, modeling both active and passive degrees of freedom. We build a model based on actuator geometry and a parallel linear and torsional spring system which we fit to experimental data in order to obtain the model constants. We demonstrate this model on two complex parallel networks, a delta mechanism and a floating actuator mechanism, and show how this single actuator model can be used to better predict movements in parallel structures of actuators. These results verify that the presented model and modeling approach can be used to speed up the design and simulation of more complex soft robot models by characterizing both active and passive forces of their one degree-of-freedom soft actuators.<br> </p>

Servo control of pneumatic actuators is difficult due to the high compressibility and non-linear flow of air. Friction as well as uncertainties in the parameters and model character-izing dynamics of the pneumatic systems further contribute to control challenges. These drawbacks cause stick-slip motion, larger tracking error and limit cycles, which degrades the control performances. Selection of a controller that satisfies requirements of the per-forming tasks is thus crucial in servo-pneumatic applications. This thesis focuses on the design and experimental evaluation of a model-based, nonlinear controller known as Dy-namical Adaptive Backstepping-Sliding Mode Control (DAB-SMC). Originally designed for chemical process control and applied only in simulations, the DAB-SMC is adopted in this thesis and applied to the new area of servo-pneumatic control of a single-rod, double acting pneumatic cylinder and antagonistic pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs). The con-troller is further enhanced by augmenting it with LuGre-based friction observers to com-pensate the adverse frictional effect presents in both actuators. Unlike other research works, the actuators are subject to a varying load that influences control operations in two different modes: motion assisting or resisting. The implementation of DAB-SMC for such servo-pneumatic control application is novel. The mass flow rates of compressed air into and out of the actuators are regulated using one of the following valve configurations: a 5/3-way proportional directional valve, two 3/2-way or four 2/2-way Pulse Width Modu-lation (PWM)-controlled valves. Over the entire range of experiments which involve vari-ous operating conditions, the DAB-SMC is observed to track and regulate the reference input trajectories successfully and in a stable manner. Average root mean square error (RMSE) values of tracking for cylinder and PAMs when the compressed air is regulated using the 5/3-way proportional valve are 1.73mm and 0.10°, respectively. In case of regu-lation, the average steady-state error (SSE) values are 0.71mm and 0.04°, respectively. The DAB-SMC exhibits better control performance than the standard PID and classical SMC by at least 33%. The DAB-SMC also demonstrates robustness for up to 78% in un-certainty of load parameter. When the control valve is replaced by the PWM-controlled valves of 3/2-way and 2/2-way configurations, performance is slightly compromised. / May 2016

La légèreté, simplicité et robustesse des systèmes mécaniques binaires font en sorte qu'ils sont une alternative prometteuse aux systèmes analogiques employés de nos jours dans des applications en robotique et en mécatronique. Les performances de systèmes mécaniques binaires sont présentement restreintes par la complexité, le poids et le coût des actionneurs conventionnels. De nouvelles technologies d'actionneurs, telles celles des matériaux intelligents (Smart Materials), doivent donc être développées afin de permettre l'essor et la commercialisation de systèmes binaires performants. Les actionneurs diélectriques en polymère (Dielectric Elastomer Actuators : DEA) sont capables de grandes déformations et de hautes énergies volumiques. Toutefois, l'application de cette technologie d'actionneurs à des systèmes binaires concrets est présentement limitée par la faible fiabilité de ces actionneurs et les faibles énergies volumiques développées par les configurations de DEAs actuelles. Afin de permettre l'avancée de la technologie des DEAs dans des applications binaires, cette recherche propose des configurations antagonistes et bistables qui développent ~10x plus d'énergie volumique que les configurations bistables développées antérieurement. De plus, cette recherche investigue les impacts des techniques de fabrication sur la fiabilité des actionneurs.

Thesis (MScEng (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Percussion is a centuries old bedside diagnostic technique that is used to diagnose various conditions of the thorax and abdomen, among these, abnormalities of the liver. The physician taps the patient’s skin in the area of interest to determine the qualities or presence of the underlying tissue or organ, by listening to the generated sound. The research contained in this thesis views percussion as a system identification method which uses an impulse response to identify the underlying system. A design employing an electromagnetic actuator as input pulse generator and accelerometer as impulse response recorder was motivated and built. Tests were performed on volunteers and the recorded signals were analysed to find methods of identifying the presence of the liver from these signals. The analyses matched signals to models or simply extracted signal features and matched these model parameters or signal features to the presence of the liver. Matching was done using statistical pattern recognition methods and the true presence of the liver was established using MR images. Features extracted from test data could not be matched to the presence of the liver with sufficient confidence which led to the conclusion that either the test, apparatus or analysis was flawed. The lack of success compelled a further test on a mock-up of the problem – a silicone model with an anomaly representing the organ under test. Results from these tests showed that signals should be measured further from the actuator and the approach followed during this test could lead to the successful location of the anomaly and discrimination between subtle differences in the consistency thereof. It is concluded that further research should aim to first validate percussion as performed by the physician and increase complexity in a phased manner, validating results and apparatus at each step. The approach followed was perhaps too bold in light of the lack of fundamental understanding of percussion and the underlying mechanisms.

Textiles of today are materials with applications in almost all our activities. We wear clothes all the time and we are surrounded with textiles in almost all our environments. The integration of multifunctional values in such a common material has become a special area of interest in recent years. Smart Textile represents the next generation of textiles anticipated for use in several fashion, furnishing and technical textile applications. The term smart is used to refer to materials that sense and respond in a pre-defined manner to environmental stimuli. The degree of smartness varies and it is possible to enhance the intelligence further by combining these materials with a controlling unit, for example a microprocessor. As an interdisciplinary area Smart Textile includes design spaces from several areas; the textile design space, the information technology design space and the design space of material science. This thesis addresses how Smart Textiles affect the textile design space; how the introduction of smart materials and information technology affects the creation of future textile products. The aim is to explore the convergence between textiles, smart materials and information technology and to contribute to providing a basis for future research in this area. The research method is based on a series of interlinked experiments designed through the research questions and the research objects. The experiments are separated into two different sections: interactive textile structures and health monitoring. The result is a series of basic methods for how interactive textile structures are created and a general system for health monitoring. Furthermore the result consists of a new design space, advanced textile design. In advanced textile design the focus is set on the relation between the different natures of a textile object: its physical structure and its structure in the context of design and use.

Plasma synthetic jet actuators are investigated experimentally, in which the geometrical design of single dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) plasma actuators is modified to produce zero-mass flux jets similar to those created by mechanical devices. The SDBD plasma actuator consists of two rectangular electrodes oriented asymmetrically and separated by a layer of dielectric material. Under an input of high voltage, high frequency AC or pulsed DC, a region of plasma is created in the interfacial air gap on account of electrical breakdown of the ambient air. A coupling between the electric field in the plasma and the neutral air near the actuator is introduced, such that the latter experiences a net force which results in a horizontal wall jet. This effect of the actuator has been demonstrated to be useful in mitigating boundary layer separation in aerodynamic flows. To increase the impact that a plasma actuator may have on the flow field, this research investigates the development and characterization of a novel flow control device, the plasma synthetic jet actuator, which tailors the residual air in the form of a vertical jet resembling conventional continuous and synthetic jets. This jet can be either three dimensional using annular electrode arrays, or nearly two dimensional using two rectangular strip exposed electrodes and one embedded electrode. Detailed measurements on the isolated plasma synthetic jet reveal that pulsed operation of the actuator results in the formation of multiple counterrotating vortical structures in the flow field. The output jet velocity and momentum are found to be higher for unsteady pulsing as compared to steady operation. In the case of flow over a flat plate, the actuator is observed to create a localized interaction region within which the baseline flow direction and boundary layer characteristics are modified. The efficiency of the actuator in coupling momentum to the neutral air is found to be related to the plasma morphology, pulsing frequency, actuator dimension, and input power. An analytical scaling model is proposed to describe the effects of varying the above variables on the output jet characteristics and actuator efficiency, and the experimental data is used for model validation.