Fluid gap Electro-Active-Polymer machines for a new generation of mechatronic systems

While mechatronic solutions become increasingly pervasive, there are areas, such as the space or the ocean depths, that are still difficult to reach and exploit through conventional technologies. Yet, such areas represent an immense source of materials and energy. A bottleneck is represented by actuation/generation technologies, which struggle in unconventional environments.

Electrostatic drives based on electroactive polymers (EAPs) have long been regarded as a potentially game-changing solution, as they rely on lightweight materials and feature no rigid moving parts, but their applicability has been severely hindered by reliability and performance limitations.

Recently, fluid-gap transducers (FGTs), which leverage combinations of dielectric polymers and liquids, have emerged as a breakthrough, as they have shown potential for reaching significantly improved performance and lifetime.

With this project, we will push FGTs beyond their limits, making them able to operate in low pressure atmospheres for space applications, or underwater and at high pressures for application in the marine environment.

To achieve these goals, we will 1) expand base knowledge on the working principle of FGTs, 2) develop new operating principle concepts based on highly unconventional material combinations, enabled by our recent findings, such as low-pressure air/vacuum dielectric gaps, or high-permittivity mildly-conductive “leaky” dielectric liquids, 3) provide proof of concept and validation of such new paradigms in a number of relevant scenarios, including FGT-driven robotic systems able to operate in vacuum (for space applications) or underwater/at high pressure, and scaled prototypes of distributed energy harvesters from sea waves.

This project will mark a leap in the field of electromechanical drives and allow mechatronic devices to reach frontiers that are unthinkable with conventional technology.