Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) is a common piezoelectric polymer. It is widely
utilized because of its advantageous mechanical, chemical, and electromechanical
properties. An interesting application for its properties lies in using it as an actuator,
specifically for a microgripper device. The microgripper has many applications such as
surgeries, microassembly, and micromanipulation. The friction force is an important
criterion that greatly affects the gripping. This research studies the frictional behavior of
the PVDF and effects of applied electrical potential. Approaches include tribological
investigation of the polymer associated with surface properties. The surface
characterization was conducted using a profilometer and an Atomic Force Microscope
(AFM). In addition, the application of a PVDF material as a microgripper is addressed
along with the design of the gripper.
It was found that the friction could be turned-on and off because of external applied
electrical potential. Such behavior was associated with the microstructure, where dipoles
were aligned in an electrical field. Such active-friction has not been reported in the past.
This work opens new areas of research in fundamental friction that benefits the design
and development of small devices such as a microgripper.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-1349 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Mani, Saikumar |
| Contributors | Liang, Hong |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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