Characterization of Polypyrrole/Gold Bilayers for Micro-valve Design

dc.contributor.advisorSmela, Elisabethen_US
dc.contributor.authorFanning, Stevenen_US
dc.contributor.departmentMechanical Engineeringen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2005-10-11T09:46:31Z
dc.date.available2005-10-11T09:46:31Z
dc.date.issued2005-08-29en_US
dc.description.abstractPolypyrrole/gold bilayers are being developed as micro-actuators for several applications. The goal of this thesis was to use these bilayers in a micro-valve to control female urinary incontinence. Several substrate materials and designs were investigated, with noteworthy findings, including the development of a bulk micromachining method for titanium based on wet etching. Despite past research on polypyrrole/gold bilayers, the relationships between design parameters and performance were unknown. Work completed in this thesis resulted in data showing how the layer thicknesses and hinge length influence actuator bending and force. Bilayer performance was also examined as a function of temperature and in urine. Bilayer curvature increased at body temperature in a standard electrolyte, but in urine PPy failed at those temperatures.en_US
dc.format.extent65689646 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2826
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledEngineering, Mechanicalen_US
dc.titleCharacterization of Polypyrrole/Gold Bilayers for Micro-valve Designen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
umi-umd-2820.pdf
Size:
62.65 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format