Sequential growth, regrowth, and control of polypyrrole-metal coil composite artificial muscles

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Title Sequential growth, regrowth, and control of polypyrrole-metal coil composite artificial muscles
Publication Type dissertation
School or College College of Engineering
Department Mechanical Engineering
Author Sarrazin, John Cody
Date 2015-05
Description Conducting polymer actuators have shown numerous improvements in mechanical performance over the last couple of decades, but can be better utilized in applications with the ability to adjust to unknown operating conditions, or improved during their lifetime. This work employs the process of sequential growth to initially fabricate polypyrrole-metal coil composite actuators, and then again for further actuator growth during its lifetime of operation. The novel synthesis process was first shown through the use of a custom testing apparatus that could support the sequential growth process by allowing different actuation and synthesis solutions to be controlled in the test cell, as well as facilitate mechanical performance testing. Open-loop testing demonstrated the actuator system performance for multiple growth stages over multiple input frequencies, and was then compared to the parameters identified to fit a simplified model during operation. The simplified model was shown to differentiate from the experimental data, but provided useful optimal growth prediction values with a performance cost evaluation algorithm. The model could predict the optimal growth determined by the experimental data to within one growth stage. Performance was improved by using a proportional-derivative feedback controller where the gains were calculated by the desired response at each growth stage for each sample. The cost performance was performed again with the closed-loop data, but did an inferior job of predicting the optimal amount of growth for each sample compared to the open-loop data. The simplified model accurately tracked the behavior changes through multiple stages of growth. The main contributions of this work include a novel testing apparatus and synthesis method for multiple growth steps, the implementation of a simplified model for tracking and optimal growth stage prediction, and the application of a model-based proportional-derivative feedback controller.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject actuator; artificial muscle; biomimetics; polymer; polymeric actuators
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name Doctor of Philosophy
Language eng
Rights Management Copyright © John Cody Sarrazin 2015
Format application/pdf
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 27,256 bytes
Identifier etd3/id/3832
ARK ark:/87278/s6v15d2c
Setname ir_etd
ID 197383
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6v15d2c
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