Dielectric Elastomer Generator for Electromechanical Energy Conversion: A Mini Review

Abstract

The dielectric elastomer generator (DEG) has attracted attention in converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, due to its high energy density, fast response, and light weight, which together make DEG a promising technology for electromechanical conversion. In this article, recent research papers on DEG are reviewed. First, we present the working principles, parameters, materials, and deformation modes of DEG. Then, we introduce DEG prototypes in the field of collecting mechanical energy, including small-scale applications for wind energy and human motion energy, and large-scale applications for wave energy. At the end of the review, we discuss the challenges and perspectives of DEG. We believe that DEG will play an important role in mechanical energy harvesting in the future.

Optimization and demonstration of two types of spring-roll dielectric elastomer actuators for minimally invasive surgery

“…This type of failure is fatal as the generated heat would dramatically build up in that region between the compliant electrodes, which then causes the film material to burn and be damaged beyond any possible repair. Many factors could affect the breakdown limits of the DE actuator and controversy remains on the estimation of this parameter in literature ( Di et al, 2021 ; Guo et al, 2021 ). Therefore, in this study, the maximum excitation level of the DE actuator was investigated experimentally.…”

“…In particular, the acrylic VHB DE material shows the largest strain up to 380% and actuation pressure up to 7.2 Mpa ( Sahu et al, 2022 ), which enables it a better response and performance surpassing that of natural muscle. Such characteristics make it particularly suitable for applications in robotics, prosthetics, and animatronics ( Ji et al, 2019 ; Li et al, 2019 ; Di et al, 2021 ; Guo et al, 2021 ).…”

Size effect and electrical ageing of PDMS dielectric elastomer with competing failure modes

“…Although, it has been widely investigated for power cable insulation [21][22][23] and high voltage (HV) capacitors [24][25][26], it remains unexplored when large volumes of dielectric elastomer are involved. Upscaling of materials and manufacturing strategies are seen as crucial milestones to address to make DEG a viable option for energy conversion [6,27] and, according to [28], building full-scale prototypes represents an urgent challenge. This paper aims at highlighting the main obstacle of volume enlargement and addresses a novel methodology to capture the size effect in a reliability model in the presence of multiple failure mechanisms.…”

Largely improved generating energy density, efficiency, and fatigue life of DEG by designing TiO2/LNBR/SiR DE composites with a self-assembled structure

“…Because of the energy crisis, harvesting energy from an external environment as an effective strategy for sustainable development has attracted much attention in recent decades. Dielectric elastomer generators (DEGs) composed of a dielectric elastomer (DE) film sandwiched between two flexible electrodes can harvest useable electrical energy from various mechanical energy including ocean waves, wind and human motion, 1,2 and they have many advantages such as light weight, high energy density ( w ), and high electromechanical coupling efficiency. Thus, considerable attention has been paid to DEG in recent years.…”