Identification of IPMC nonlinear model via single and multi-objective optimization algorithms

Ionic Polymer–Metal Composites (IPMCs) are electro-active polymers transforming mechanical forces into electric signals and vice versa. This paper proposes an improved electro-mechanical grey-box model for IPMC membrane working as actuator. In particular the IPMC nonlinearity has been characterized through experimentation and included within the electric model. Moreover identification of the model parameters has been performed via optimization algorithms using both single- and multi-objective formulation. Minimization was attained via the Nelder–Mead simplex and the Genetic Algorithms considering as cost functions the error between the experimental and modeled absorbed current and the error between experimental and modeled displacement. The obtained results for the different formulations have been then compared.