Modeling water motion in ionic polymer metal composites

Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs) are porous electroactive polymers that are characterized by a uniquely complex electrochemomechanical coupling. The literature includes several modeling approaches, many of which do not consider the presence of water or include its potential role only implicitly. Here, we propose a finite deformations model for IPMCs that accounts explicitly for the water motion within a thermodynamically consistent framework. Through finite element simulations, we disentangle the contribution of water dynamics on the physics of IPMCs. Such a model could be extended to include solution non-idealities, whose effects is presently elusive in IPMC actuation.