• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 1998.04a
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• pp.1-4
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• 1998

Segmented Polyurethanes Elastomers are a class of polymers having interesting properties which arise from their unique phase-separated structures resulting from the thermodynamic incompatibility of the ingredients[1]. Segmented polyurethane Elastomer generally consists of a segment derived from a polymeric diol and a hard segment from a diisocyanate and a low molecular weight diol(chain extender).(omitted)

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.119-124
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• 2001

Dimethyl terephthalate (DMT). 1.4-butanediol (1.4-BD) and poly (tetramethylene ether) glycol (PTMG) in the molecular weight of 2000 (g/mol) were used to synthesize poly(ether-b-ester) thermoplastic elastomers (TPEEs). The final copolymers were annealed to improve thermal stability at elevated temperatures and mechanical properties. This study showed that as the proportion of soft segment increases melting temperature and degree of crystallinity of TPEEs decrease constantly. In case of mechanical properties like flexural strength and flexural elastic modulus. $35-PTMG^{2000}$ indicates the highest values due to more efficient physical interlock.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2023

Three-dimensional (3D) micro/nanostructures based on soft elastomers have received extensive attention in recent years, owing to their potential and advanced applicability. Designing and fabricating 3D micro/nanostructures are crucial for applications in diverse engineering fields, such as sensors, harvesting devices, functional surfaces, and adhesive patches. However, because of their structural complexity, fabricating soft-elastomer-based 3D micro/nanostructures with a low cost and simple process remains a challenge. Bio-inspired designs that mimic natural structures, or replicate their micro/nanostructure surfaces, have greatly benefited in terms of low-cost fabrication, scalability, and easy control of geometrical parameters. This review highlights recent advances in 3D micro/nanostructures inspired by nature for diverse potential and advanced applications, including flexible pressure sensors, energy-harvesting devices based on triboelectricity, superhydrophobic/-philic surfaces, and dry/wet adhesive patches.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.537-546
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• 1994

The physical characteristics of polymer modified asphalt depend on many parameters, such as, the polymer nature, polymer content and the asphalt properties. The objective of this study is to investigate the temperature susceptibility of polymer modified asphalt. The asphalts employed in this study were two different grades : a soft(200/300) grade and a hard(85/100) grade. And chlorinated polyethylene of two different characteristics were used : plastomer(Tyrin 2552) and elastomer(Tyrin CM0730). Temperature susceptibility of asphalt is a fundamental feature for characterizing asphalt and modified asphalt. It can be quantified by the penetration index(PI) and pen-vis number(PVN). These indices were obtained from the measurements of penetration and viscosity of the asphalt samples. For both of asphalts, the addition of the polymers increases the value of PI and PVN. Plastomer modified asphalt shows higher value of PI and PVN than elastomer modified asphalt. Soft grade shows more temperature susceptibility than hard grade at elevated temperatures.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.6-12
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• 2015

This paper investigates the stick-slip characteristic of magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) between an aluminum plate and the surface of the MRE. MRE is a smart material and it can change its mechanical behavior with the interior iron particles under the influence of an applied magnetic field. Stick-slip is a movement of two surfaces relative to each other that proceeds as a series of jerks caused by alternate sticking from friction and sliding when the friction is overcome by an applied force. This special tribology phenomenon can lead to unnecessary wear, vibration, noise, and reduced service life of work piece. The stick-slip phenomenon is avoided as far as possible in the field of mechanical engineering. As this phenomenon is a function of material property, applied load, and velocity, it can be controlled using the characteristics of MRE. MRE as a soft smart material, whose mechanical properties such as modulus and stiffness can be changed via the strength of an external magnetic field, has been widely studied as a prospective replacement for general rubber in the mechanical domain. In this study, friction force is measured under different loads, speed, and magnetic field strength. From the test results, it is confirmed that the stick-slip phenomenon can be minimized under optimum conditions and can be applied in various mechanical components.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.274-281
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• 2009

Nylon 6 and nylon elastomer were prepared by anionic polymerization route. Nylon elastomers, composed of hard segment of polyamide(PA) and soft segment of polyether(PE), were synthesized by use of TDI terminated polyol with caprolactam. The morphology of the electrospun webs of nylon and nylon elastomers, observed by FE-SEM, showed that the porous electrospun web was composed of nanofibers, whose diameter were in the range of 100 to 180 nm. Their behavior of melting and crystallization and the chemical structure of nylon elastomers were investigated by DSC and ATR FT-IR. Result of tensile testing indicated that nylon has higher tensile strength and lower elongation than nylon elastomers. Atmospheric plasma(APP) with $O_2$ and $N_2$ as reactive gas modified the surface of electrospun nylon and electrospun nylon elastomers allowing them higher hydrophilicity, while APP with $CH_4$ as reactive gas modified the surface of polymers allowing higher hydrophobicity.

• Prospectives of Industrial Chemistry
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.19-31
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• 2021

자극응답성 액정 엘라스토머(liquid crystal elastomer)는 하이드로겔(hydrogel), 형상 기억 고분자(shape memory polymer)와 더불어 생체 특성을 모방한 인공 근육, 소프트 액추에이터 및 소프트 로봇을 위한 스마트 소재로 최근 높은 관심을 받고 있다. 특히, 액정 엘라스토머는 고무 탄성과 액정 이방성이 결합된 비등방성 탄성 고분자로, 열, 빛, 전기 및 수분과 같은 외부자극에 반응하여 가역적이며, 액정 분자들의 배향조절을 통한 프로그램된 변형이 가능하다. 액정 엘라스토머가 개념 증명을 하는 수준을 넘어 실제로 유용한 소프트 액추에이터 및 로봇 시스템에 적용되기 위해서는 우수한 구동력 및 작업 용량, 높은 구동 변형률, 빠른 응답 시간, 낮은 구동 온도, 다양한 외부 자극반응성 및 높은 에너지 전환 효율 등을 확보하는 것이 중요하다. 본 기고문에서는 액정 엘라스토머의 개념에 대해 소개하고, 이러한 소재가 소프트 액추에이터로써 광범위하게 활용될 수 있도록 다양한 성능들을 향상시킬 수 있는 방법에 대해 소개하고자 한다.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.460-464
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• 2011

Poly(ether-block-amide)(PEBA, $PEBAX^{TM}$) resin is a thermoplastic elastomer combining linear chains of hard-rigid polyamide block interspaced soft-flexible polyether block. It was believed that the hard polyamide block provides the mechanical strength and permeation selectivity, whereas gas transport occurs primarily through the soft polyether block. The objective of this work was to investigate the gas permeation properties of carbon dioxide and methane for $PEBAX^{TM}$-1657 membrane and compare with those obtained for other grade of $PEBAX^{TM}$, $PEBAX^{TM}$-2533. And the organic/inorganic hybrid membranes were prepared using $PEBAX^{TM}$ and TEOS(tetraethoxysilane) by sol-gel process, and gas permeation properties were studied. $PEBAX^{TM}$-2533 membrane exhibited higher gas permeability coefficients than $PEBAX^{TM}$-1657 membrane. This was explained by the increase of chain mobility. The permeability coefficients for $PEBAX^{TM}$/TEOS hybrid membranes were higher than pure $PEBAX^{TM}$ membranes. This results were explained by the reduction of crystallinity of polyamide block by the introduction of TEOS. Ideal separation factor of hybrid membranes does not change much. This might be due to the increase of solubility selectivity.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.10-17
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• 2013

Polyolefin-g-poly(t-butylstyrene) as one of the high-temperature polyolefin-based thermoplastic elastomers was synthesized by the graft-from anionic living polymerization from the styrene moieties of the linear poly(ethylene-ter-1-hexene-ter-divinylbenzene) as a soft block to form the hard end blocks, poly(t-butylstyrene). The chemistry of the anionic graft-from polymerization involved complete lithiation of the pendant styrene unit of the soft polyolefin elastomer with sec-BuLi/TMEDA followed by the subsequent graft anionic polymerization of 4-tert-butylstyrene with Mn=10,000~30,000 g/mol. The graft-from living anionic polymerization were very effective and the grafting size increased proportionally with increasing monomer concentration and the reaction times. The synthetic methodology for the multi-hydroxyl chain-end modified polyolefin-g-poly(t-butylstyrene) was proposed by using the thiol-ene click reaction between 2-mercaptoethanol and the polyolefin-g-[poly(t-butylstyrene)-b-high vinyl polyisoprene], which was obtained from the subsequent living block copolymerization using polyolefin-g-Poly(t-butylstyrene) with isoprene. The result indicated that this process produced a new well-defined functionalized graft-type polyolefin-based TPE with high $T_g$ hard block(> $145^{\circ}C$).

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.89-101
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• 2006

Tactile sensation is one of the most important sensory functions for human perception of objects. Recently, there have been many technical challenges in the field of tactile display as well as tactile sensing. In this paper, we propose an innovative tactile display device based on soft actuator technology with ElectroActive Polymer(EAP). This device offers advantageous features over existing devices with respect to intrinsic flexibility, softness, ease of fabrication and miniaturization, high power density, and cost effectiveness. In particular, it can be adapted to various geometric configurations because it possesses structural flexibility, so it can be worn on any part of the human body such as finger, palm, and arm etc. It can be extensively applied as a wearable tactile display, a Braille device for the visually disabled, and a human interface in the future. A new design of the flexible actuator is proposed and its basic operational principles are discussed. In addition, a wearable tactile display device with $4{\times}5$ actuator array(20 actuator cells) is developed and its effectiveness is confirmed.