The electromechanical properties of dielectric elastomers (DEs) are surely affected by the ambient humidity and electrode materials. In this article, under a varying ambient humidity, the dielectric constant, electromechanical deformation and electrical breakdown strength of Very-High-Bond (VHB) 4905 elastomer with different electrode materials are experimentally investigated. Four common electrode materials, including carbon grease, carbon powder, conductive adhesive, and conductive silicone rubber, are involved. Experimental results directly show that the electromechanical deformation and electrical breakdown strength of DEs with different electrode materials have distinct sensitivity to humidity. Under a condition of diverse humidity, the VHB film with carbon grease is found to generate the largest voltage-induced deformation, while a high electrical breakdown strength is induced by the electrode material of carbon powder.
In this research, by utilizing the Very-High-Bond (VHB) 4905 elastomer, we carry out an experimental examination on the humidity effect on dynamic electromechanical performances of dielectric elastomers, including the dynamic response and viscoelastic creeping. Firstly, we experimentally analyze effects of the pre-stretch, peak voltage, waveform and frequency of the dynamic response of VHB 4905 elastomer under several ambient humidities. In general, the amplitude of dynamic deformation gradually adds up with the increasing humidity. Besides, it is found that the amplitude affected by different parameters shows diverse sensitivity to humidity. Subsequently, effect of humidity on the viscoelastic creeping of VHB 4905 is explored. The results demonstrate that, subject to different ambient humidities, the viscoelastic creeping under Alternating Current (AC) voltage is similar to that under Direct Current (DC) voltage. Furthermore, the equilibrium position of dynamic viscoelastic creep enlarges gradually with the humidity, regardless of voltage waveforms. For the dielectric elastomer with a pre-stretch ratio of 3, when the humidity increases from 20% to 80%, the increase of average equilibrium position of dynamic viscoelastic creep is larger than 1599%.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.