Engineered Ionic Polymer Metal Composites as Extension Sensors: Theory and Experiments

Abstract This article investigates analytically and experimentally the mechano-chemo-electrical behavior of ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC) and engineered IPMC (eIPMC) sensors under extensional loading. To predict the sensing response of eIPMCs, a detailed model is proposed incorporating a composite layer (CL) for the abraded interface between polymer and electrode. We present open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current sensing predictions derived from this model, and we validate them via experiments on anisotropic extensional loading of IPMCs. Experimental results demonstrate that our sensors’ electrical outputs align well with theoretical predictions, thereby validating our findings and enhancing our understanding of eIPMC strain sensor behavior.