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Temporal evolution in a dissipative air-coupled spherical dielectric elastomer actuator

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Abstract

A viscoelastic model is developed for a dissipative Thin spherical dielectric elastomer actuator (TSDEA), with which the air-coupled effect and the ambient pressure effect are considered. The evolution equation is constructed by using the rheological model and is solved by employing the improved Euler method. The sealed air in the TSDEA is governed by the ideal gas state equation. Numerical results show that the air-coupled effect is helpful for evolving into the stable state. It also shows that the ambient pressure and the loading parameters play an important role on the temporal evolution behavior of the TSDEA. The TSDEA can evolve into a much larger size configuration in a low ambient pressure environment than that in a high ambient pressure environment. The model can be employed to analyze or predict the viscoelastic behaviors of a TSDEA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering Mechanics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    H. M. Wang

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  1. H. M. Wang
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Correspondence to H. M. Wang.

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Recommended by Associate Editor Jaewook Lee

H. M. Wang is currently a Professor of Engineering Mechanics at Zhejiang University (China). He received his Ph.D. in Solid Mechanics from Zhejiang University in 2003, Hangzhou, China. His research interests include soft active materials, smart materials and structures and multifield coupling analysis.

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Wang, H.M. Temporal evolution in a dissipative air-coupled spherical dielectric elastomer actuator. J Mech Sci Technol 31, 4337–4343 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-0832-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-0832-7

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