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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
ISBN 9781119661146
Cover image: Pixabay.com
Cover design by Russell Richardson
An actuator is a kind of part of a machine that is responsible for moving and controlling a mechanism/system. It can also be defined as something that converts energy into motion. The common types of actuators in automation include pneumatic, hydraulic, electromechanical, and mechanical actuators. Current technology has certain common needs for actuators designed for automotive, aeronautics, biomedical, robotics, and spatial applications. Today's technology aims towards designing of nano-, micro-, and macroscales for mechanical devices that can change their shape concerning the environmental conditions. The attention on developing actuating devices has been escalating in the past decade as a consequence of soaring demand for biomimetic multifaceted mechanisms such as implantable neuronal devices, animal-like robots, tissue substitutes, etc. In recent years, all over the world, researchers have concentrated on the development of new kinds of actuators owing to increasing demand for high-precision positioning technology in the areas of scientific and industrial research.
Actuators: Fundamentals, Principles, Materials and Applications aims to explore cutting-edge technology on actuators. The chapters discuss basics, principles, use of materials, types of actuators, and applications of actuators in mechatronics, robotics, artificial muscles, and high-precision positioning technology. It also includes actuators based on hydrogels, stimuli-responsive electroactive polymers, and smart-polymers. The challenges and prospects are also discussed. The book incorporates industrial applications and will fill the gap between the lab scale and practical applications. It will be of interest to engineers, industrialists, undergraduate and postgraduate students, faculty, and professionals. Based on thematic topics, the book contains the following nine chapters:
Chapter 1 discusses the piezoelectric actuators along with their applications in various fields. It is concluded that owing to the special properties, the piezoelectric actuators attracted much attention compared to other actuators, and research is going on to introduce new kinds of piezoelectric materials for actuator applications.
Chapter 2 reveals some of the important parameters that are to be considered while designing a shape memory alloy (SMA) actuated system. The design parameters will enable us to build an efficient control mechanism and also give a broad range of basic elements that are to be decided before the developing stage, and the parameters required are quantified.
Chapter 3 captures actuators in the mechatronics system or robotics. This chapter discusses in detail the various types of actuators such as pneumatic, hydraulic, mechanical, and electromechanical. The various components of actuators, as well as applications of actuators, are also stated.
Chapter 4 discusses the use of stimuli-responsive hydrogels for the development of soft-actuators with main applications in automated biomedical devices due to its tissue-equivalence. Important concepts about the properties, synthesis, and characterization of hydrogels and their respective soft-actuators are presented. This chapter can help as a practical guide to consulting current fundamental reactions and manufacturing methodologies.
Chapter 5 reviews various polymer-based chemical sensors for the detection of different parameters such as gas, vapors, humidity, pH, and ions. The exploration of numerous kinds of polymers, along with the utilization of different techniques with their merits and demerits, is also elaborately discussed. This chapter also highlights the future perspective of polymerbased chemical sensors.
Chapter 6 deals with various shape memory actuators, which mainly include shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators and shape memory polymer (SMP) actuators. The classification of shape memory effects (SME), types of actuators, advantages, applications, and various design mechanisms, or strategies of these two shape memory materials (SMM) is also discussed in detail.
Chapter 7 reports the current progress of stimuli-responding conducting polymer (CP) composites to understand the mechanical behavior of these materials concerning electrical-, photo-, and thermo-responsive stimuli. An overview of the most widely used CPs composite materials with their uses and operational mechanisms, as well as a specified account of CPs as next-generation actuators, is also presented.
Chapter 8 discusses the various types of fluid power actuators like single and double acting cylinders, telescopic cylinder and tandem cylinders used for industrial applications. This chapter also discusses the application of fluid power actuators for robotics, legged robotics and MEMS application.
Chapter 9 provides an overview of conducting polymer/hydrogel systems as soft actuators, conducting polymer actuators and their actuation mechanism, their merits and demerits followed by highlighting the progress of CP/hydrogel actuators fabricated using polypyrrole, polyaniline and polythiophene with various hydrogels, and outlines the factors affecting their actuation performance.