Abstract
Dielectric elastomer (DE) characteristics and potentials have led to more efficient actuators in soft robots. Meanwhile, more possibilities could be explored by incorporating other properties, including viscoelasticity and anisotropy. The present study focuses on establishing constitutive laws to capture the electromechanical coupled behavior of anisotropic viscoelastic fiber-reinforced DEs. The proposed model is presented in the framework of the strain energy function, nonlinear electro-elasticity, and nonlinear continuum mechanics approach. The derived model has been calibrated and validated using available experimental results. An Abaqus subroutine has also been developed and used for finite element simulation. Rate-dependent governing equations of a fiber-reinforced layered DE have also been considered as well as the effects of fibers direction and actuating electric field. Obtained results indicate the efficiency of the suggested model and developed subroutine in describing rate-dependency, electro-elasticity, and anisotropy. According to the findings, stiffening the bending actuator with fibers can drastically affect the deflection and force of the sample under different loading conditions.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability Statement
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
References
R. Pelrine, R. Kornbluh, Q. Pei, J. Joseph, High-speed electrically actuated elastomers with strain greater than 100%. Science 287(5454), 836–839 (2000)
S. Bauer, S. Bauer-Gogonea, I. Graz, M. Kaltenbrunner, C. Keplinger, R. Schwödiauer, 25th anniversary article: a soft future: from robots and sensor skin to energy harvesters. Adv. Mater. 26(1), 149–162 (2014)
Q. Pei, M. Rosenthal, S. Stanford, H. Prahlad, R. Pelrine, Multiple-degrees-of-freedom electroelastomer roll actuators. Smart Mater. Struct. 13(5), N86 (2004)
F. Carpi, A. Mannini, D. De Rossi, in Elastomeric contractile actuators for hand rehabilitation splints. Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2008 (2008), pp. 37–46. SPIE
Y. Qiu, E. Zhang, R. Plamthottam, Q. Pei, Dielectric elastomer artificial muscle: materials innovations and device explorations. Acc. Chem. Res. 52(2), 316–325 (2019)
A. Dorfmann, R.W. Ogden, Nonlinear electroelasticity. Acta Mech. 174(3), 167–183 (2005)
Z. Suo, X. Zhao, W.H. Greene, A nonlinear field theory of deformable dielectrics. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 56(2), 467–486 (2008)
E. Hansy-Staudigl, M. Krommer, A. Humer, A complete direct approach to nonlinear modeling of dielectric elastomer plates. Acta Mech. 230(11), 3923–3943 (2019)
J. Zhang, J. Chen, Z. Ren, Mechanical behavior of a circular dielectric elastomer membrane under out-of-plane deformation. J. Mech. 37, 184–191 (2021)
A.K. Sharma, M.M. Joglekar, Effect of anisotropy on the dynamic electromechanical instability of a dielectric elastomer actuator. Smart Mater. Struct. 28(1), 015006 (2018)
A.K. Sharma, M.M. Joglekar, A numerical framework for modeling anisotropic dielectric elastomers. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 344, 402–420 (2019)
K.B. Subramani, R.J. Spontak, T.K. Ghosh, Influence of fiber characteristics on directed electroactuation of anisotropic dielectric electroactive polymers with tunability. Compos. Sci. Technol. 154, 187–193 (2018)
C. Zeng, X. Gao, Stability of an anisotropic dielectric elastomer plate. Int. J. Non Linear Mech. 124, 103510 (2020)
A. Moss, M. Krieg, K. Mohseni, Modeling and characterizing a fiber-reinforced dielectric elastomer tension actuator. IEEE Robot. Autom. Lett. 6(2), 1264–1271 (2021)
E. Allahyari, M. Asgari, Nonlinear dynamic analysis of anisotropic fiber-reinforced dielectric elastomers: a mathematical approach. J. Intell. Mater. Syst. Struct. 32(18–19), 2300–2324 (2021)
E. Allahyari, M. Asgari, Fiber reinforcement characteristics of anisotropic dielectric elastomers: a constitutive modeling development. Mech. Adv. Mater. Struct. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/15376494.2021.1958275
A. Ahmadi, M. Asgari, Nonlinear coupled electro-mechanical behavior of a novel anisotropic fiber-reinforced dielectric elastomer. Int. J. Non Linear Mech. 119, 103364 (2020)
A. Ahmadi, M. Asgari, Novel bio-inspired variable stiffness soft actuator via fiber-reinforced dielectric elastomer, inspired by Octopus bimaculoides. Intel. Serv. Robot. 14(5), 691–705 (2021)
S. Wang, M. Decker, D.L. Henann, S.A. Chester, Modeling of dielectric viscoelastomers with application to electromechanical instabilities. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 95, 213–229 (2016)
S. Qu, K. Li, T. Li, H. Jiang, M. Wang, Z. Li, Rate dependent stress-stretch relation of dielectric elastomers subjected to pure shear like loading and electric field. Acta Mech. Solida Sin. 25(5), 542–549 (2012)
M. Shariff, R. Bustamante, J. Merodio, A nonlinear spectral rate-dependent constitutive equation for electro-viscoelastic solids. Z. Angew. Math. Phys. 71(4), 1–22 (2020)
S.K. Behera, D. Kumar, S. Sarangi, Modeling of electro–viscoelastic dielectric elastomer: a continuum mechanics approach. Eur. J. Mech. A Solids 90, 104369 (2021)
K.A. Khan, H. Wafai, T.E. Sayed, A variational constitutive framework for the nonlinear viscoelastic response of a dielectric elastomer. Comput. Mech. 52(2), 345–360 (2013)
N. Kumar, V.V. Rao, Hyperelastic Mooney-Rivlin model: determination and physical interpretation of material constants. Parameters 2(10), 01 (2016)
D.P. Pioletti, L. Rakotomanana, J.-F. Benvenuti, P.-F. Leyvraz, Viscoelastic constitutive law in large deformations: application to human knee ligaments and tendons. J. Biomech. 31(8), 753–757 (1998)
Z.M. Ghahfarokhi, M. Salmani-Tehrani, M.M. Zand, S. Esmaeilian, A new viscous potential function for developing the viscohyperelastic constitutive model for bovine liver tissue: continuum formulation and finite element implementation. Int. J. Appl. Mech. 12(03), 2050029 (2020)
A. Tayeb, M. Arfaoui, A. Zine, M. Ichchou, A. Hamdi, J. Ben Abdallah, Investigation of the nonlinear hyper-viscoelastic behavior of elastomers at finite strain: implementation and numerical validation. Eur. Phys. J. Plus 137(5), 1–18 (2022)
J. Simo, R. Taylor, Penalty function formulations for incompressible nonlinear elastostatics. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 35(1), 107–118 (1982)
A. Büschel, S. Klinkel, W. Wagner, Dielectric elastomers–numerical modeling of nonlinear visco-electroelasticity. Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng. 93(8), 834–856 (2013)
G.A. Holzapfel, T.C. Gasser, R.W. Ogden, A new constitutive framework for arterial wall mechanics and a comparative study of material models. J. Elast. Phys. Sci. Solids 61(1), 1–48 (2000)
D.R. Nolan, A.L. Gower, M. Destrade, R.W. Ogden, J.P. McGarry, A robust anisotropic hyperelastic formulation for the modelling of soft tissue. J. Mech. Behav. Biomed. Mater. 39, 48–60 (2014)
L.D. Peel, Fabrication and mechanics of fiber-reinforced elastomers, Brigham Young University, 1998
J. Mehta, Y. Chandra, R. Tewari, The use of dielectric elastomer actuators for prosthetic, orthotic and bio-robotic applications. Procedia Comput. Sci. 133, 569–575 (2018)
S. Son, N. Goulbourne, Dynamic response of tubular dielectric elastomer transducers. Int. J. Solids Struct. 47(20), 2672–2679 (2010)
Y. Wang, B. Chen, Y. Bai, H. Wang, J. Zhou, Actuating dielectric elastomers in pure shear deformation by elastomeric conductors. Appl. Phys. Lett. 104(6), 064101 (2014)
T. Vu-Cong, C. Jean-Mistral, A. Sylvestre, Impact of the nature of the compliant electrodes on the dielectric constant of acrylic and silicone electroactive polymers. Smart Mater. Struct. 21(10), 105036 (2012)
M. Hossain, D.K. Vu, P. Steinmann, Experimental study and numerical modelling of VHB 4910 polymer. Comput. Mater. Sci. 59, 65–74 (2012)
G. Kofod, P. Sommer-Larsen, R. Kornbluh, R. Pelrine, Actuation response of polyacrylate dielectric elastomers. J. Intell. Mater. Syst. Struct. 14(12), 787–793 (2003)
F.S.C. Mustata, A. Mustata, Dielectric behaviour of some woven fabrics on the basis of natural cellulosic fibers. Adv. Mater. Sci. Eng. (2014). https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/216548
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
This section is aimed to provide a detailed presentation of the derivation processes of involved parameters and the tangent moduli. It should be noted that if the definition of the Cauchy stress is showed to be correct, the final FEM result obtained using the Cauchy stress and extracted tangent moduli would be correct because the tangent modulus serves as an iterative operator. In this research work, all the stress terms are evaluated using analytical results and appropriate experimental data.
1.1 Hyperelastic terms
1.2 Viscoelastic terms
1.3 Volumetric terms
1.4 Anisotropic terms
1.5 Dielectric terms
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Majidi, M., Asgari, M. Rate-dependent electromechanical behavior of anisotropic fiber-reinforced dielectric elastomer based on a nonlinear continuum approach: modeling and implementation. Eur. Phys. J. Plus 138, 73 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-03688-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-03688-w