Dynamic Modeling and Simulation of Ionic Polymer Metal Composites (IPMC) Actuated Manipulator

Ionic Polymer Metal Composites (IPMC) are soft and flexible materials that can produce large bending when low voltage is applied to them. This bending motion in parallel configuration enables the material to produce actuating force at the tip of the material strips. This characteristic of IPMC makes these materials suitable for multiple applications in industrial, medical, biological and biomimetic fields. The results indicate that the mass of the second link is inversely proportional to the angle moved by it, whereas the kinetic and potential energies are directly proportional. Link-2 lags in time interval as compared to link-1, since link-1 is the driving link. The frequency-based analysis exposed that increasing mass of the link causes an increase in the vibrating frequency. These results anticipate that ionic polymer metal composite has sufficient potential to provide the force for the movements of manipulator links and can be employed to micro-scaled, multiple-joint manipulators to open a gateway for practical purposes.