{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/34308"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/34308","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Charge Control of Ionic Polymers","abstract":"Ionomeric polymer metal composites can be used as transducers characterized by high strain and low force. They are created by bonding a thin conductive electrode to the surfaces of an ionomeric polymer. Much of the work in the past has focused on using a voltage across the thickness of the polymer to produce mechanical motion. That work has often demonstrated that the mechanism of transduction within the polymer was associated with the accumulation of charge in the polymer. This thesis will discuss the use of current as a means to better control the accumulation of charge. Better control of the charge will provide more reliable control of the mechanical motion of the polymer. The data presented in this thesis demonstrates that the response of an ionomeric polymer to a current input is repeatable. The repeatability is a desirable result; however, using current to actuate the polymers also produces back relaxation in the response. Examination of the back relaxation reveals a low frequency non-linearity. The nonlinearity is quantified by the fact that the gain associated with the back relaxation does not increase linearly with an increase in input current. There is also a change in the response at certain voltage thresholds. For example, when the voltage across the polymer exceeds 3 V, the rate of back relaxation increases. The repeatability of the response will aid in implementing reliable control of the polymer, but the non-linearities in the back relaxation will provide a considerable challenge in developing a model to be used in control.","abstract_html":"Ionomeric polymer metal composites can be used as transducers characterized by high strain and low force. They are created by bonding a thin conductive electrode to the surfaces of an ionomeric polymer. Much of the work in the past has focused on using a voltage across the thickness of the polymer to produce mechanical motion. That work has often demonstrated that the mechanism of transduction within the polymer was associated with the accumulation of charge in the polymer. This thesis will discuss the use of current as a means to better control the accumulation of charge. Better control of the charge will provide more reliable control of the mechanical motion of the polymer. The data presented in this thesis demonstrates that the response of an ionomeric polymer to a current input is repeatable. The repeatability is a desirable result; however, using current to actuate the polymers also produces back relaxation in the response. Examination of the back relaxation reveals a low frequency non-linearity. The nonlinearity is quantified by the fact that the gain associated with the back relaxation does not increase linearly with an increase in input current. There is also a change in the response at certain voltage thresholds. For example, when the voltage across the polymer exceeds 3 V, the rate of back relaxation increases. The repeatability of the response will aid in implementing reliable control of the polymer, but the non-linearities in the back relaxation will provide a considerable challenge in developing a model to be used in control.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Robinson, Walter Junkin"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":"Mechanical Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Leo, Donald J."],"committee_members":["Robertshaw, Harry H.","Inman, Daniel J."],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-07-27","date_published":"2005-07-27","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:45Z","subjects":["charge control","IPMC","ionic polymer"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-08022005-095016"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-08022005-095016","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/34308","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Leo, Donald J."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Robertshaw, Harry H.","Inman, Daniel J."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Robinson, Walter Junkin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T20:42:30Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T20:42:30Z","2005-08-18"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2005-07-27"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["charge control","IPMC","ionic polymer"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-08022005-095016"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/34308"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Ionomeric polymer metal composites can be used as transducers characterized by high strain and low force. They are created by bonding a thin conductive electrode to the surfaces of an ionomeric polymer. Much of the work in the past has focused on using a voltage across the thickness of the polymer to produce mechanical motion. That work has often demonstrated that the mechanism of transduction within the polymer was associated with the accumulation of charge in the polymer. This thesis will discuss the use of current as a means to better control the accumulation of charge. Better control of the charge will provide more reliable control of the mechanical motion of the polymer. The data presented in this thesis demonstrates that the response of an ionomeric polymer to a current input is repeatable. The repeatability is a desirable result; however, using current to actuate the polymers also produces back relaxation in the response. Examination of the back relaxation reveals a low frequency non-linearity. The nonlinearity is quantified by the fact that the gain associated with the back relaxation does not increase linearly with an increase in input current. There is also a change in the response at certain voltage thresholds. For example, when the voltage across the polymer exceeds 3 V, the rate of back relaxation increases. The repeatability of the response will aid in implementing reliable control of the polymer, but the non-linearities in the back relaxation will provide a considerable challenge in developing a model to be used in control."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Charge Control of Ionic Polymers"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Leo, Donald J."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Robertshaw, Harry H.","Inman, Daniel J."],"dc:contributor.department":["Mechanical Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Robinson, Walter Junkin"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T20:42:30Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T20:42:30Z","2005-08-18"],"dc:date.issued":["2005-07-27"],"dc:description.abstract":["Ionomeric polymer metal composites can be used as transducers characterized by high strain and low force. They are created by bonding a thin conductive electrode to the surfaces of an ionomeric polymer. Much of the work in the past has focused on using a voltage across the thickness of the polymer to produce mechanical motion. That work has often demonstrated that the mechanism of transduction within the polymer was associated with the accumulation of charge in the polymer. This thesis will discuss the use of current as a means to better control the accumulation of charge. Better control of the charge will provide more reliable control of the mechanical motion of the polymer. The data presented in this thesis demonstrates that the response of an ionomeric polymer to a current input is repeatable. The repeatability is a desirable result; however, using current to actuate the polymers also produces back relaxation in the response. Examination of the back relaxation reveals a low frequency non-linearity. The nonlinearity is quantified by the fact that the gain associated with the back relaxation does not increase linearly with an increase in input current. There is also a change in the response at certain voltage thresholds. For example, when the voltage across the polymer exceeds 3 V, the rate of back relaxation increases. The repeatability of the response will aid in implementing reliable control of the polymer, but the non-linearities in the back relaxation will provide a considerable challenge in developing a model to be used in control."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:identifier.other":["etd-08022005-095016"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/34308"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["charge control","IPMC","ionic polymer"],"dc:title":["Charge Control of Ionic Polymers"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mechanical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:45Z"}