An integrated, self-priming dielectric elastomer generator

McKay, Thomas; O’Brien, Benjamin; Calius, Emilio P.; Anderson, Iain A.

doi:10.1063/1.3478468

Cited by 136 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 5 publications

(15 reference statements)

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“…Prahlad et al have highlighted that large arrays of distributed power generators would be enabled if high voltage flexible polymer electronics were developed. 96 In a drive to reduce electronics mass, McKay et al have produced the integrated self-priming circuit DEG that uses the inherent capacitance of DE to perform the energy storage function of the capacitor bank into the generator membrane, 118,119 thus eliminating the extra bulk of external capacitors. Diodes are the other element of a self-priming circuit.…”

Section: Energy Harvestingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-functional dielectric elastomer artificial muscles for soft and smart machines

Anderson

Gisby²,

McKay³

et al. 2012

Journal of Applied Physics

548

314

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Dielectric elastomer (DE) actuators are popularly referred to as artificial muscles because their impressive actuation strain and speed, low density, compliant nature, and silent operation capture many of the desirable physical properties of muscle. Unlike conventional robots and machines, whose mechanisms and drive systems rapidly become very complex as the number of degrees of freedom increases, groups of DE artificial muscles have the potential to generate rich motions combining many translational and rotational degrees of freedom. These artificial muscle systems can mimic the agonist-antagonist approach found in nature, so that active expansion of one artificial muscle is taken up by passive contraction in the other. They can also vary their stiffness. In addition, they have the ability to produce electricity from movement. But departing from the high stiffness paradigm of electromagnetic motors and gearboxes leads to new control challenges, and for soft machines to be truly dexterous like their biological analogues, they need precise control. Humans control their limbs using sensory feedback from strain sensitive cells embedded in muscle. In DE actuators, deformation is inextricably linked to changes in electrical parameters that include capacitance and resistance, so the state of strain can be inferred by sensing these changes, enabling the closed loop control that is critical for a soft machine. But the increased information processing required for a soft machine can impose a substantial burden on a central controller. The natural solution is to distribute control within the mechanism itself. The octopus arm is an example of a soft actuator with a virtually infinite number of degrees of freedom (DOF). The arm utilizes neural ganglia to process sensory data at the local “arm” level and perform complex tasks. Recent advances in soft electronics such as the piezoresistive dielectric elastomer switch (DES) have the potential to be fully integrated with actuators and sensors. With the DE switch, we can produce logic gates, oscillators, and a memory element, the building blocks for a soft computer, thus bringing us closer to emulating smart living structures like the octopus arm. The goal of future research is to develop fully soft machines that exploit smart actuation networks to gain capabilities formerly reserved to nature, and open new vistas in mechanical engineering.

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Section: Energy Harvestingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-functional dielectric elastomer artificial muscles for soft and smart machines

Anderson

Gisby²,

McKay³

et al. 2012

Journal of Applied Physics

548

314

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, an ocean wave energy harvesting buoy has an energy density of about 135 J/kg, a DEG with balloon geometry has an energy density of 102 J/kg, and self-priming DEGs have been reported with energy densities from 2.8 J/kg to 12.6 J/kg. [3,4,6,7,8] . A relatively high energy density, 300 J/kg, has been reported for shoe generators [8] , but the significance of this value is difficult to evaluate because only limited technical details were reported.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maximizing the Energy Density of Dielectric Elastomer Generators Using Equi‐Biaxial Loading

Huang

Shian

Suo

et al. 2013

Adv Funct Materials

199

211

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Dielectric elastomer generators (DEGs) for harvesting electrical energy from mechanical work have been demonstrated but the energy densities achieved are still small compared with theoretical predictions. We show that significant improvements in energy density (560 J/kg with a power density of 280 W/kg and an efficiency of 27%) can be achieved using equi-biaxial stretching, a mechanical loading configuration that maximizes the capacitance changes. We demonstrate the capacitance of dielectric elastomers subjected to equi-biaxial stretches is proportional to the fourth power of the stretch. Quantification of the individual energy contributions indicates that attaining higher conversion efficiencies is limited by viscous losses within the acrylic elastomer, suggesting that still higher conversion efficiencies with other elastomers should be attainable with our novel mechanical loading design.

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“…When a high voltage is applied to the compliant electrodes which are coated onto the surfaces of a DE, the DE can quickly change its shape and when the electric stimulus is removed, the DE rapidly recovers its original shape. The pressure produced by the electrostatic force induced by the electric stimulus compresses the film and transfers electrical energy into mechanical energy [17,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation into the electromechanical properties of dielectric elastomers subjected to pre-stressing

Jiang¹,

Betts²,

Kennedy³

et al. 2015

Materials Science and Engineering: C

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a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oDielectric elastomers (DEs) are being exploited for biological applications such as artificial blood pumps, biomimetic grippers and biomimetic robots. Generally, polyacrylate and silicone rubber (SR) are the most widely used materials for fabricating DEs in terms of mixing with other polymers or compounding them with highly dielectric particles. Furthermore, pre-stretch offers an effective approach to increasing actuated strain and dielectric strength and eliminating 'pull-in' instability. In the work described here, a comparison in electromechanical properties was made between SR/10% barium titanate (BaTiO 3 ) and commercial VHB 4910. Trends in these dielectric parameters are shown graphically for variation in pre-stretch ratio (λ pre ). It was found that permittivity of SR/10% BaTiO 3 was independent of frequency, whereas permittivity was frequency-independent due to the polarization of polymer chains. The maximum deformation and the coupling efficiency for SR/10% BaTiO 3 can be achieved at a pre-stretch ratio between 1.6 and 1.9. For VHB 4910, they can be obtained in the prestretch ratio range from 2.6 to 3.0. A maximum energy density of 0.05 MJ/m 3 was achieved by SR/10% BaTiO 3 (λ pre = 1.6) and VHB 4910 (λ pre = 3.4). The findings provide an insight into critical pre-stretch ratios required for a range of applications of DEs based on silicone and the commercially available polyacrylate VHB 4910.

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An integrated, self-priming dielectric elastomer generator

Cited by 136 publications

References 5 publications

Multi-functional dielectric elastomer artificial muscles for soft and smart machines

Multi-functional dielectric elastomer artificial muscles for soft and smart machines

Maximizing the Energy Density of Dielectric Elastomer Generators Using Equi‐Biaxial Loading

Investigation into the electromechanical properties of dielectric elastomers subjected to pre-stressing

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