Finite element modeling of electrochemical-poroelastic behaviors of conducting polymers

A computational modeling is established for the electrochemical-poroelastic behavior of conducting polymers such as polypyrrole. The three-dimensional continuum modeling given by Della Santa et al. for the passive, poroelastic behavior of conducting polymers is extended to the formulation for the active, electrochemical-poroelastic formulation according to Onsager-like laws, which is combined with the one-dimensional equation for ionic transportation. The validity of the finite element formulation for these governing equations has been demonstrated by numerical studies for the passive and active responses of polypyrrole membranes.