ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the key issues in scaling up manufacturing of electroactive carbon nanotube (CNT) actuators and provides conceptual and experimental results regarding their integration into textile membrane constructions for future adaptive building skins. As one type of ionic electroactive polymer (EAP) they have attracted large interest from industry and academia due to their small actuation voltages, relatively large actuation response and their flexible and soft mechanical characteristics. However, their complex manufacturing process, sophisticated material compositions and their sensitivity to environmental factors have so far limited a wider application range. The focus of the performed work was to obtain a validated statement about whether such actuators can be used as a means of ventilation and humidity regulation inside confined buildings and empower users to regain control over individual comfort requirements.
