UBC Home Page -
UBC Home Page -
UBC Home Page UBC Home Page -
-
-
News Events Directories Search UBC myUBC Login
-
- -
-
ACTUATOR SELECTION TOOL
 
- -


-
FIELD OVERVIEW

Material Properties
Mechanism A word that generally describes the class of materials used for actuation (e.g. Dielectric Elastomer or Conducting Polymer or Carbon Nanotubes).
Material The particular active material used (e.g. Silicone or polypyrrole or Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes).
Additive Additional material additive (e.g. particles to increase dielectric constant or influence mechanical properties).
Density (kg/m^3)Density of the active material.
Dielectric Constant Relative dielectric permittivity. Most relevant in dielectric elastomers, ferroelectric elastomers and other electronic EAPs.
Conductivity (S/cm)Electronic conductivity along the primary direction in which current flows. Not relevant for dielectrics.
Young's Modulus (GPa)The normalized stiffness of the active material along the primary actuation axis.
Tensile Strength (MPa)The stress above which mechanical failure commonly occurs.
Strain at Break (%)The relative elongation at which the material fails.
Geometry
Form Fiber, film, tube, bilayer or other geometry.
Length (mm)Length of the active material along the primary axis of actuation.
Width (mm)Width of the active material.
Thickness (mm)Thickness of the active material (not including packaging, separators etc.).
Outer Diameter (mm)The diameter of the active material (in the case of a fiber or tube).
Inner Diameter (mm)The inner diameter of the active material (in the case of a tube).
Volume (mm^3)The volume of active materials used.
Number of Strands If multiple films, fibers or tubes are used, how many of them are there?
Turns (turns/cm)If the active material is wound, how tight is the winding?
Electrode Properties
Name of Material What material is used to make electrical contact with the active material?
Electrolyte Properties
Solvent Type The type of solvent in which ions are dissolved (e.g. aqueous, organic, ionic liquid, gel or solid electrolyte).
1st Solvent The dominant solvent (e.g. aqueous, acetonitrile etc.).
2nd Solvent In case of a mixture, the second largest component (e.g. ethylene carbonate).
Salt The chemical name for the ions added (e.g. Sodium Chloride or Tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate).
Concentration (M)The salt concentration.
Ratio (1st:2nd Solution) The relative proportions of the first and second solvents.
pH The pH (when aqueous solutions are used).
Anion The anion name (repetition of salt category above).
Cation The cation name (repetition of salt category above).
Coating Material Metal, dielectric or other material that coats the electrode.
Isometric or Isotonic Is the testing done under constant load (isotonic), constant length (isometric) or other?
Operating Conditions
Type of Cycling What is the input voltage or current waveform (e.g. Voltage step, voltammetry, swept sine).
Voltage Min. (V)The lowest voltage used in operating the actuator (e.g. 0 V or - 10 V)
Voltage Max. (V)The maximum voltage applied (Peak to Peak).
Voltage Difference (V)The amplitude of the applied voltage.
Prestrain (Primary Axis) (%)The relative amount by which the actuator is pre-stretched along the direction of actuation.
Prestrain (Secondary Axis) (%)The relative amount by which the actuator is pre-stretched perpendicular to the direction of actuation.
Constant Load (N)Magnitude of force applied when operated under fixed load conditions.
Frequency (Hz)Number of actuation cycles per second.
Experiment Results
Work Density (kJ/m^3)The amount of work generated per unit volume of active material (not including packaging, electrodes, electrolyte etc.)
Typical Strain (%)The strain that is typically observed.
Operating Stress (MPa)The load normalized by the cross-section area.
Power Density (kW/m^3)The mechanical power per unit volume.
Continuous Power (W/kg)The average mechanical power under continuous actuation.
Cycles (Minimum) The number of cycles at which strain (or stress under isometric conditions) drops to half of its initial value.
Efficiency (%)The ratio of the mechanical work out to the electrical energy in.
Electrochemical Strain Coefficient (%/(C/m^3))The amount of strain obtained per unit charge, per unit volume (primarily for conducting polymers.)
Charge (mC)The absolute amount of charge transferred.
Capacitance (F)The total capacitance of the cell.
Bandwidth (Hz)The rate at which the actuator strain (or stress) drops by 50 %.
Strain Rate (%/s)The average strain per unit time.
Stress Rate (MPa/s)The average stress per unit time.
Stress Relax Rate (Active) (%/cycle)The average rate at which stress changes under constant load.
Stress Relax Rate (Inactive) (%/cycle)The peak rate at which stress drops (under isometric conditions).
Creep Rate (Active) (%/cycle)The peak rate of creep during actuation (typically under constant load)
Creep Rate (Inactive) (%/cycle)The maximum rate at which creep is observed under fixed electrical conditions (typically at constant load)
Peak Power (W/kg)The maximum observed mechanical power per unit active material mass
Peak Engineering Strain (%)The maximum strain observed.
Average Strain Rate (%/s)The typical strain rate.
Average Stress Rate (MPa/s)The rate at which stress is changing (primarily calculated for isometric measurements).
Charge/Volume (mC/m^3)The amount of charge transferred per unit volume of active material.
Charge/Mass (mC/kg)The amount of charge transferred per unit mass of active material.
Capacitance/Volume (F/m^3)The charge divided by the voltage, normalized by volume.
Electric Field Intensity (V/m)The intensity of the electric field applied (primarily used to describe actuation in dielectrics).
Source Information
Source A reference to the publication from which the data are obtained or, if unpublished, the group from which the data originated.
Author The names of the authors or providers of the data.