A theoretical study on bending behaviour of conducting polymer actuator

Conducting polymer actuators are of vital importance to the future of many engineering developments in a range of different fields especially micro applications. To allow for the use of conducting polymer actuators in practical applications a reliable and accurate model to predict the applied voltage, output force and bending motion relationship must be established. In current research, we are aiming to contribute to the fundamental understanding of the mechanical behaviour of such conducting polymer actuators under a range of different conditions and material properties. To achieve this goal it is vital to formulate a model that accurately represents the relationship between the applied voltage, output force and the resulting bending displacement of the conducting polymer actuator. Two different theoretical models have been developed and compared; one consisting of an analytical solution and the other involving a range of different finite element models solved using a commercial finite element analysis package-Abaqus. A new modelling method involving the meshing of a multilayered rectangular cross section that can be used for the analysis of a beam-like model is presented with satisfactory results. This numerical method allows for the complex structure of the conducting polymer actuator to be analysed using three dimensional beam elements available in Abaqus/Standard and allowing for the principles of classic beam theory to be implemented.