Driving Characteristics of Conductive Stainless-steel Fibers

An actuator is a device that converts chemical into kinetic energy. It has been used in industry, medicine, and various other fields. In this study, we focused on the use of conductive fibers as actuator elements. By using fiber-shaped materials as actuators, we can expect three-dimensional driving compared with conventional two-dimensional fiber materials and suggest the novel utilization of conductive fibers. Therefore, we evaluated the driving behavior by applying electric potential using various conductive fibers. The conductive fibers which used in this study have already been commercialized and used in various fields. We evaluated the driving behavior when an electric potential was applied to the conductive fibers with different electric resistivity. The driving behavior of a floating fiber with a length of 1 mm was evaluated when alternating current was applied at both fiber ends. As a result, it was confirmed that the fibers with high conductivities were driven. In particular, stainless-steel fibers exhibited the best driving behavior. In addition, the characteristics of driving behavior improvement was correlated with frequency up to 5 Hz. Even after 24 h of continuous operation, 60% of the driving behavior stability was maintained. These driving patterns are considered to be based on the thermal expansion and contraction based on the Joule heating generated by the applied electric potential. © 2023 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.