Abstract
A dielectric elastomer is able to act as an actuator when it is subject to an electric field. This paper deals with the theoretical analysis of a dielectric elastomer balloon actuator that is driven by a fixed mass of high-pressure air inside and the periodic voltage applied across the balloon wall. The equation of motion involving high nonlinearity is derived and the dynamic response of the balloon subject to a combination of pressure and periodic voltage is presented. Considering the allowable deformation of a dielectric elastomer is strictly limited by the material failures, this paper proposes a novel concept of the actuation capability of a dielectric elastomer balloon actuator concerning not only quasi-static states but also dynamic states, and analyzes the effect that the material failures exert on the actuation capability in terms of various operating conditions of the balloon actuator. The simulation results demonstrate that the operation conditions of the balloon actuator have a considerable impact on the actuation capability. This new concept offers a significant guidance for the dynamics applications of the balloon actuator and is applicable to other types of dielectric elastomer actuators.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Suo Z (2010) Theory of dielectric elastomers. Acta Mech Solida Sin 23(6):549–578
Zhu J, Stoyanov H, Kofod G, Suo Z (2010) Large deformation and electromechanical instability of a dielectric elastomer tube actuator. J Appl Phys 108(7):074113
Koh SJA, Li T, Zhou J, Zhao X, Hong W, Zhu J, Suo Z (2011) Mechanisms of large actuation strain in dielectric elastomers. J Polym Sci B Polym Phys 49(7):504–515
Lu T, Huang J, Jordi C, Kovacs G, Huang R, Clarke DR, Suo Z (2012) Dielectric elastomer actuators under equal-biaxial forces, uniaxial forces, and uniaxial constraint of stiff fibers. Soft Matter 8(22):6167–6173
Fox JW, Goulbourne NC (2008) On the dynamic electromechanical loading of dielectric elastomer membranes. J Mech Phys Solids 56(8):2669–2686
Lee HS, Phung H, Lee DH, Kim UK, Nguyen CT, Moon H, Choi HR (2014) Design analysis and fabrication of arrayed tactile display based on dielectric elastomer actuator. Sens Actuators A Phys 205:191–198
Keplinger C, Sun JY, Foo CC, Rothemund P, Whitesides GM, Suo Z (2013) Stretchable, transparent, ionic conductors. Science 341(6149):984–987
Xu BX, Mueller R, Theis A, Klassen M, Gross D (2012) Dynamic analysis of dielectric elastomer actuators. Appl Phys Lett 100(11):112903
Ren JS (2008) Dynamical response of hyper-elastic cylindrical shells under periodic load. Appl Math Mech 29:1319–1327
Sheng J, Chen H, Li B, Wang Y (2014) Nonlinear dynamic characteristics of a dielectric elastomer membrane undergoing in-plane deformation. Smart Mater Struct 23(4):045010
Alijani F, Amabili M (2014) Non-linear vibrations of shells: a literature review from 2003 to 2013. Int J Non Linear Mech 58:233–257
Needleman A (1977) Inflation of spherical rubber balloons. Int J Solids Struct 13(5):409–421
Gent AN (1999) Elastic instabilities of inflated rubber shells. Rubber Chem Technol 72(2):263–268
Zhu J, Cai S, Suo Z (2010) Nonlinear oscillation of a dielectric elastomer balloon. Polym Int 59(3):378–383
Yong H, He X, Zhou Y (2011) Dynamics of a thick-walled dielectric elastomer spherical shell. Int J Eng Sci 49(8):792–800
Zhang J, Chen H (2014) Electromechanical performance of a viscoelastic dielectric elastomer balloon. Int J Smart Nano Mater 5(2):76–85
Gent AN (1996) A new constitutive relation for rubber. Rubber Chem Technol 69(1):59–61
Keplinger C, Li T, Baumgartner R, Suo Z, Bauer S (2012) Harnessing snap-through instability in soft dielectrics to achieve giant voltage-triggered deformation. Soft Matter 8(2):285–288
Yalla SK, Kareem A (2001) Beat phenomenon in combined structure-liquid damper systems. Eng Struct 23(6):622–630
Koh Jin Adrian S, Keplinger C, Li T, Bauer S, Suo Z (2011) Dielectric elastomer generators: how much energy can be converted? IEEE/ASME Trans Mech 16(1):33–41
Huang J, Shian S, Diebold RM, Suo Z, Clarke DR (2012) The thickness and stretch dependence of the electrical breakdown strength of an acrylic dielectric elastomer. Appl Phys Lett 101(12):122905
Zhao X, Suo Z (2007) Method to analyze electromechanical stability of dielectric elastomers. Appl Phys Lett 91(6):061921
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by the Ministry of Education of Singapore under Academic Research Fund (AcRF) No. R-265-000-513-133/731.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, F., Wang, M.Y. Dynamic performance of a dielectric elastomer balloon actuator. Meccanica 50, 2731–2739 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11012-015-0206-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11012-015-0206-0