Papers by Author: Takao Kubo

Abstract: Smart materials have been developed in many leading technologies. Smart material is a material that gives a specific reaction to the change and stimulus of the external environment such as light, heat and electromagnetic fields. Electro-rheological Gel (ERG) is one smart material. ERG changes its surface adhesive properties rapidly according to the intensity of the applied electrical field. This unique property is named Electro-adhesive effect (EA effect). In this research, as a novel electro-adhesive film which is replaced with ERG, Electro-adhesive film with micro mesh sheets is developed and named EAMS. Furthermore, it is proved that the developed film using the mesh sheet produces the EA effect and that the performance of EAMS is enhanced according to the increase of the open space and the number of layers.

Abstract: Viscoelastic polymers are used as one of coating materials for protecting the products from scratches. Presently, the repair of the coating surface for removing dust or extraneous matters has been performed through several polishing processes. However, it becomes increasingly difficult to polish its surface by only applying good skill and experience of skilled worker because a leading-edge viscoelastic polymer for coating is further scratch-resistant. Thus, based on quantitative evaluation of relation between polishing process and finished surface, it is necessary to make the polishing process appropriate for the leading-edge viscoelastic polymers. In this study, we attempt to establish the evaluation method of the polished surface and clarify the surface condition with invisible scratches.