Smart materials are the way of the future in a variety of fields, from biomedical engineering and chemistry to nanoscience, nanotechnology, and robotics. Featuring an interdisciplinary approach to smart materials and structures, this second edition of Artificial Muscles: Applications of Advanced Polymeric Nanocomposites has been fully updated to thoroughly review the latest knowledge of ionic polymeric conductor nanocomposites (IPCNCs), including ionic polymeric metal nanocomposites (IPMNCs) as biomimetic distributed nanosensors, nanoactuators, nanotransducers, nanorobots, artificial muscles, and electrically controllable intelligent polymeric network structures.

Authored by one of the founding fathers of the field, the book introduces fabrication and manufacturing methods of several electrically and chemically active ionic polymeric sensors, actuators, and artificial muscles, as well as a new class of electrically active polymeric nanocomposites and artificial muscles. It also describes a few apparatuses for modeling and testing various artificial muscles to show the viability of chemoactive and electroactive muscles. It presents the theories, modeling, and numerical simulations of ionic polymeric artificial muscles' electrodynamics and chemodynamics and features current industrial and medical applications of IPMNCs.

By covering the fabrication techniques of and novel developments in advanced polymeric nanocomposites, this second edition continues to provides an accessible yet solid foundation to the subject while stimulating further research.

Key features:

Fully up to date with the latest cutting-edge discoveries in the field
Authored by a world expert in the subject area
Explores the exciting and growing topic of smart materials in medicine
Mohsen Shahinpoor is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maine and a leading expert in artificial muscles.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction to Ionic Polymers, Ionic Gels and Stimuli-Responsive Materials and Artificial Muscles

Chapter 2 Fundamentals of Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMCs) and Nanocomposites (IPMNCs)

Chapter 3 Ionic Polymer-Metal Nanocomposites: (IPMCs and IPMNCs) Manufacturing Techniques

Chapter 4 Ionic Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) Fibrous Artificial Muscles/Nanomuscles

Chapter 5 PAMPS Ionic Polymeric Artificial Muscles

Chapter 6 Modeling and Simulation of IPMCs as Distributed Soft Biomimetic Nanosensors, Nanoactuators, Nanotransducers and Artificial Muscles

Chapter 7 Sensing, Transduction, Feedback Control and Robotic Applications of Polymeric Artificial Muscles

Chapter 8 Conductive or Ion-Conjugated Polymers as Artificial Muscles

Chapter 9 Engineering, Industrial and Medical Applications of Ionic Polymer Metal Nanocomposites

Chapter 10 Epilogue and Conclusions