Fiber-reinforced conjugated polymer torsional actuator and its nonlinear elasticity modeling

Reported conjugated polymer actuators have typically been limited to bender or linear extender configurations. In this paper, we present a fiber-reinforced conjugated polymer actuator capable of torsional motion. By incorporating platinum fibers into the material matrix during the electrochemical fabrication process, we create anisotropy in the interaction between the fiber and the material matrix, resulting in torsion and other associated deformations upon actuation. A nonlinear elasticity-based model is utilized to capture the actuator performance for both small and large deformations. The effectiveness of the model is verified through comparison with experimental results.