In this paper a novel force sensor, based on ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs), ispresented. The system has DC sensing capabilities and is able to work in the range of a fewmillinewtons. IPMCs are emerging materials used to realize motion actuators and sensors. AnIPMC strip is activated in a beam fixed/simply-supported configuration. The beam is tightenedat the simply-supported end by a force. This influences the natural resonant frequency of thebeam; the value of the resonant frequency is used in the proposed system to estimate the forceapplied in the axial direction. The performance of the system based on the IPMC material hasproved to be comparable with that of sensors based on other sensing mechanisms. This suggeststhe possibility of using this class of polymeric devices to realize PMEMS (plastic microelectrical mechanical systems) sensors.
A resonant force sensor based on ionic polymer metal composites
FORTUNA, Luigi;GRAZIANI, Salvatore;
2008-01-01
Abstract
In this paper a novel force sensor, based on ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs), ispresented. The system has DC sensing capabilities and is able to work in the range of a fewmillinewtons. IPMCs are emerging materials used to realize motion actuators and sensors. AnIPMC strip is activated in a beam fixed/simply-supported configuration. The beam is tightenedat the simply-supported end by a force. This influences the natural resonant frequency of thebeam; the value of the resonant frequency is used in the proposed system to estimate the forceapplied in the axial direction. The performance of the system based on the IPMC material hasproved to be comparable with that of sensors based on other sensing mechanisms. This suggeststhe possibility of using this class of polymeric devices to realize PMEMS (plastic microelectrical mechanical systems) sensors.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
