This thesis aimed to fabricate and test twisted coiled polymer actuators (TCPA) to understand the mechanical and thermal aspects of this artificial muscle fiber. The purpose of this thesis was to find a linear relationship using the LVDT sensor, fabricating TCPA fibers, and interpreting the data. The project tested whether nylon/polymer could be used as a better artificial muscle fiber.
This research accomplished three goals: (1) designing and fabricating a system capable of creating supercoiled muscle fibers consistently, (2) calibrating the Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) and Core, and (3) analyzing/interpreting the data of the Twisted Coiled Polymer Actuators (TCPA) fibers through the sensors. The proposed methods could be used to control the monofilament's twisting and tension through the four steps, measuring, coiling, annealing, and testing the TCPA fibers.
This thesis has built a foundation that can be used to fabricate TCPA fibers from nylon and evaluate their mechanical and thermal behavior while being measured within the LVDT sensor. The results provided a better understanding of the mechanical behavior of the TCPA fibers and provided the foundations to optimize a final building block to understanding this artificial muscle fiber.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis aimed to fabricate and test twisted coiled polymer actuators (TCPA) to understand the mechanical and thermal aspects of this artificial muscle fiber. The purpose of this thesis was to find a linear relationship using the LVDT sensor, fabricating TCPA fibers, and interpreting the data. The project tested whether nylon/polymer could be used as a better artificial muscle fiber.</p> <p>This research accomplished three goals: (1) designing and fabricating a system capable of creating supercoiled muscle fibers consistently, (2) calibrating the Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) and Core, and (3) analyzing/interpreting the data of the Twisted Coiled Polymer Actuators (TCPA) fibers through the sensors. The proposed methods could be used to control the monofilament's twisting and tension through the four steps, measuring, coiling, annealing, and testing the TCPA fibers.</p> <p>This thesis has built a foundation that can be used to fabricate TCPA fibers from nylon and evaluate their mechanical and thermal behavior while being measured within the LVDT sensor. The results provided a better understanding of the mechanical behavior of the TCPA fibers and provided the foundations to optimize a final building block to understanding this artificial muscle fiber.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ronquillo, Ryan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Natural Science","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"College of Science and Mathematics","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Hector Ochoa, PhD","Christopher Aul, PhD","Dan Bruton, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-05-05T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-05-05T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:37Z","subjects":["TCPA","LVDT","Annealing","Fabrication","Myofilament","Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering","Electrical and Computer Engineering","Engineering","Kinesiology","Mathematics","Mechanical Engineering","Microbiology","Other Physics","Physics","Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/499","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Hector Ochoa, PhD","Christopher Aul, PhD","Dan Bruton, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ronquillo, Ryan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-05-05T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["College of Science and Mathematics"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Natural Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["TCPA","LVDT","Annealing","Fabrication","Myofilament","Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering","Electrical and Computer Engineering","Engineering","Kinesiology","Mathematics","Mechanical Engineering","Microbiology","Other Physics","Physics","Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/499"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis aimed to fabricate and test twisted coiled polymer actuators (TCPA) to understand the mechanical and thermal aspects of this artificial muscle fiber. The purpose of this thesis was to find a linear relationship using the LVDT sensor, fabricating TCPA fibers, and interpreting the data. The project tested whether nylon/polymer could be used as a better artificial muscle fiber.
This research accomplished three goals: (1) designing and fabricating a system capable of creating supercoiled muscle fibers consistently, (2) calibrating the Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) and Core, and (3) analyzing/interpreting the data of the Twisted Coiled Polymer Actuators (TCPA) fibers through the sensors. The proposed methods could be used to control the monofilament's twisting and tension through the four steps, measuring, coiling, annealing, and testing the TCPA fibers.
This thesis has built a foundation that can be used to fabricate TCPA fibers from nylon and evaluate their mechanical and thermal behavior while being measured within the LVDT sensor. The results provided a better understanding of the mechanical behavior of the TCPA fibers and provided the foundations to optimize a final building block to understanding this artificial muscle fiber.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Future is Now in Twisted Coil Polymer Actuators (TCPA)"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Hector Ochoa, PhD","Christopher Aul, PhD","Dan Bruton, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Ronquillo, Ryan"],"dc:date.available":["2023-05-05T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis aimed to fabricate and test twisted coiled polymer actuators (TCPA) to understand the mechanical and thermal aspects of this artificial muscle fiber. The purpose of this thesis was to find a linear relationship using the LVDT sensor, fabricating TCPA fibers, and interpreting the data. The project tested whether nylon/polymer could be used as a better artificial muscle fiber.
This research accomplished three goals: (1) designing and fabricating a system capable of creating supercoiled muscle fibers consistently, (2) calibrating the Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) and Core, and (3) analyzing/interpreting the data of the Twisted Coiled Polymer Actuators (TCPA) fibers through the sensors. The proposed methods could be used to control the monofilament's twisting and tension through the four steps, measuring, coiling, annealing, and testing the TCPA fibers.
This thesis has built a foundation that can be used to fabricate TCPA fibers from nylon and evaluate their mechanical and thermal behavior while being measured within the LVDT sensor. The results provided a better understanding of the mechanical behavior of the TCPA fibers and provided the foundations to optimize a final building block to understanding this artificial muscle fiber.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/499"],"dc:subject":["TCPA","LVDT","Annealing","Fabrication","Myofilament","Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering","Electrical and Computer Engineering","Engineering","Kinesiology","Mathematics","Mechanical Engineering","Microbiology","Other Physics","Physics","Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics"],"dc:title":["The Future is Now in Twisted Coil Polymer Actuators (TCPA)"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["College of Science and Mathematics"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Natural Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:37Z"}