Interface design for DE based stack-actuators considering various application cases

Abstract

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.

Design and validation of a dielectric elastomer membrane actuator driven pneumatic pump

“…thickness compression and area expansion. These two modes generate what are commonly known as stack actuators [30,31] and membrane actuators [10,18,32,33], respectively. For the particular case of membrane actuators, which are investigated in the present work, the area expansion can be properly magnified by pre-loading the membrane with a biasing mechanism, e.g.…”

Development, manufacturing, and validation of a dielectric elastomer membrane actuator–driven contactor

“…DEAs represent the main focus of this article. For such systems, a distinction is commonly made between stack actuators (Bochmann et al, 2016; Kovacs et al, 2009; Lotz et al, 2011; Reitelshöfer et al, 2016), which exploit the thickness change, and membrane actuators (Hau et al, 2017, 2018b; Hill et al, 2017; Plante et al, 2007; York et al, 2013), which generate a motion by means of the surface expansion. In order to generate a stroke, membrane DEAs must be combined with a pre-stress mechanism, such as a mass or a spring.…”