Blocked force measurement of electro-active paper actuator by micro-balance

This paper presents a blocked force measurement of electro-active paper (EAPap) with a simple configuration and high accuracy. Blocked force is a force at the tip of a bending actuator when the tip is fixed. A micro-balance with a fixture is used to measure the blocked force of EAPap bending actuator. The measurement is conducted with dc electric fields. A theoretical blocked force is calculated by using the cantilever beam model, and the measured blocked force is compared with the calculated result. Comparing the measured blocked force with the calculated result shows a good agreement. This force measurement method is simple and accurate, and can be applied for measuring blocked forces of EAP actuators. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.