Transducers based on dielectric elastomers (DE) have gained a lot of attention within the last few years. Due to an electric field, the elastic material covered with electrodes on both opposing sides deforms. This effect is applicable for generator and actuator applications. To increase the absolute deformation multilayer, DE transducers are used. In order to transmit tensile forces, the adhesion between each layer has to be sufficiently high. Therefore, the adhesion between the layers and between the layer and the electrode are investigated within this publication. Different adhesion theories are presented and assessed in terms of effectiveness and their influence on electromechanical characteristics. To determine the parameters influencing the adhesion, the theory according to Johnson, Kendall and Roberts (JKR-theory) is studied and an approach to increase the adhesion of rough surfaces is deduced. Furthermore, methods to enhance the adhesion are presented and executed. In particular, a surface plasma treatment is conducted and the influence of different electrode composites is investigated with respect to their bonding properties of the multilayer DE composite. To assess the enhancement capability, T-peel tests are carried out proving the peel resistance against delamination. Besides that, surface resistance and dielectric breakdown strength are analyzed to investigate the influence of surface treatment on the electric properties. Finally, a conclusion summarizes the obtained results.
Transducers based on dielectric elastomers (DE) are able to fulfill various requirements as generator, sensor and actuator applications. Depending on the application their design implementation differs. An advantageous transducer topology to improve the strain and force are DE stack-transducers which consist of multiple layers of DE films coated with a compliant electrode. Their actuation behavior is strongly depended on the total number of layers and the mechanical interface to its environment. Considering different application cases customized actuator designs are proposed and the utilized manufacturing process is briefly presented. Within this publication a FE model is used to simulate the deformation under consideration of various mechanical boundaries. Afterwards, experimental investigations are conducted to verify the simulation results. Actuator configurations with different mechanical interfaces are analyzed regarding their static actuation behavior. Furthermore, dynamic tests were conducted to show differences between actuators made from silicone and polyurethane (PUR). In summary, the tests confirm the results of the FE analysis and provide promising results appropriate for various future applications.
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