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UCT RESEARCH REPORT 2012
Research Project
Computational Electromagnetics: Electro-Mechanical
Coupling of Electro-active Polymers
Functional or active materials are those materials whose physical and chemical properties are sensitive to change in the
environment, such as temperature, pressure, or the presence of an electric field. These materials are used to develop
smart structures which are capable of sensing and adapting to changes in their environment, and smart systems, which
comprise smart material, a smart structure, and intelligent processing. As such, they have a broad range of applicability
and play an essential and important role in everyday life.
In recent years, functional or active materials have
played an increasingly important role in the design of
advanced and smart structures as well as intelligent and
micro-electromechanical systems. Amongst these kinds
of smart materials are the smart hydrogels used in the
development of therapeutic devices and drug delivery,
piezoelectric polymers which produce an electric current
upon being subjected to mechanical strain (and have
industry and manufacturing as their largest application
market, followed by the automotive industry), and
conducting polymers which are collectively known as
electroactive polymers (EAP). EAP have a wide range
of applications, with one of the most common being in
the development of artificial muscles.
A research project being led by Dr Sebastian Skatulla
of the Department of Civil Engineering intensively
studies the properties of EAP in experiments, and
has developed a number of mathematical models. In
contrast to existing theories, Dr Skatulla’s work seeks
to address nonlinear electro-mechanical coupling in
a very fundamental manner, that is, to formulate a
continuum mechanical approach which directly links
electric stimulus and resulting deformation of the
polymer material. As the theory is kept very general, it
is applicable to a high diversity of electro-mechanical
coupling problems.
Dr Skatulla’s collaborators include Dr Carlo Sansour
(University of Nottingham) and Associate Professor
Arunachalakasi Arockiarajan (Indian Institute of
Technology Madras).
These materials are used to
develop smart structures which
are capable of sensing and
adapting to changes in their
environment.