Dielectric elastomer sensors show great potential for wearable electronics and mechatronic applications. However, these sensors have some deficiencies in their appearance and low sensitivity to compressive force measurements. We demonstrate a novel dielectric elastomer sensor enabled by ionic liquid that has fully transparent appearance, low resistivity and the capacity of actuation at large-scale frequencies. We investigate the basic mechanical behaviors of the sensor experimentally. It is noted that the sensor has a remarkable sensitivity to measure compressive force, which is higher than the existing stacked dielectric elastomer sensors.
Dielectric elastomer membrane has the ability of shrinking the thickness and expanding surface area when a voltage is applied through its thickness. Dielectric elastomer has been widely studied and used as dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA), dielectric elastomer generator (DEG) and dielectric elastomer sensor (DES). We study the behavior of several DEAs connected in series and parallel, and find that the different connecting models can achieve different responses of the DEAs. DEAs connected in series can enhance the actuation, while DEA connected in parallel can enhance the actuation force. In our experiment, DEAs connected in series and parallel are loaded in actuation direction under a dead load providing pre-stretch. We discuss the results of the experiments and give the conclusions.
Inspired from the natural invertebrates like worms and starfish, we propose a novel elastomeric smart structure. The smart structure can function as a soft robot. The soft robot is made from a flexible elastomer as the body and driven by dielectric elastomer as the muscle. Finite element simulations based on nonlinear field theory are conducted to investigate the working condition of the structure, and guide the design of the smart structure. The effects of the prestretch, structural stiffness and voltage on the performance of the smart structure are investigated. This work can guide the design of soft robot.
Three dimensional responsive structures have high value for the application of responsive hydrogels in various fields such as micro fluid control, tissue engineering and micro robot. Whereas various hydrogels with stimuli-responsive behaviors have been developed, designing and fabricating of the three dimensional responsive structures remain challenging. We develop a temperature responsive double network hydrogel with novel fabrication methods to assemble the complex three dimensional responsive structures. The shape changing behavior of the structures can be significantly increased by building blocks with various responsiveness. Mechanical instability is built into the structure with the proper design and enhance the performance of the structure. Finite element simulation are conducted to guide the design and investigate the responsive behavior of the hydrogel structures
The natural limbs of animals and insects integrate muscles, skins and neurons, providing both the actuating and sensing functions simultaneously. Inspired by the natural structure, we present a novel structure with integrated function of actuating and sensing with dielectric elastomer (DE) laminates. The structure can deform when subjected to high voltage loading and generate corresponding output signal in return. We investigate the basic physical phenomenon of dielectric elastomer experimentally. It is noted that when applying high voltage, the actuating dielectric elastomer membrane deforms and the sensing dielectric elastomer membrane changes the capacitance in return. Based on the concept, finite element method (FEM) simulation has been conducted to further investigate the electromechanical behavior of the structure.
Dielectric elastomer (DE) actuators can convert electrical energy to mechanical energy. However, actuating DE
membranes requires applying high voltage. Continuously applying high voltage on DE actuator causes failures such as
current leakage and electric breakdown. To overcome the high voltage actuation drawbacks of DE actuators, this paper
raises a new actuation method using DE interacting with external elastic structures. The analysis is demonstrated based
on continuum mechanics, and agrees very well with experiment measurements.
Mechanical energy and electrical energy can be converted to each other by using a dielectric elastomer transducer. Large
voltage-induced deformation has been a major challenge in the practical applications. The voltage-induced deformation
of dielectric elastomer is restricted by electromechanical instability (EMI) and electric breakdown. We study the loading
path effect of dielectric elastomer and introduce various methods to achieve giant deformation in dielectric elastomer and
demonstrate the principles of operation in experiments. We use a computational model to analyze the operation of DE
generators and actuators to guide the experiment. In actuator mode, we get three designing parameters to vary the
actuation response of the device, and realize giant deformation with appropriate parameter group. In the generator mode,
energy flows in a device with inhomogeneous deformation is demonstrated.
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