The Future is Now in Twisted Coil Polymer Actuators (TCPA)

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Natural Science

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

College of Science and Mathematics

Year dc:date.available

2023

Author dc:creator

• Ronquillo, Ryan

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hector Ochoa, PhD
• Christopher Aul, PhD
• Dan Bruton, PhD

• 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

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/499

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.sfasu.edu:etds-1528