IPMCs as Vibration Sensors

Vibration sensing and control in structures and machinery are essential to prevent damage or failure. This paper proposes a new sensor, based on polymeric materials, to be used as a vibration sensor. Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs), active materials showing a bidirectional electromechanical coupling, are used. A new model has been developed and a test setup was realized using an electromechanical shaker, a laser based deflection meter and an accelerometer. To study the feasibility of the proposed device a cantilever bender was constructed using the ionic polymer nafion. Test results comparing model estimation and experimental are presented. Since the conditioning circuitry required by the IPMC based sensor is very simple, it could be in the near future realized by using plastic based electronics.