Mechanics of reversible wrinkling in a soft dielectric elastomer

Srivastava, Arpit Kumar; Basu, S.

doi:10.1103/physreve.101.040501

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 30 publications

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“…There exist a few studies on the morphologies of DE wrinkles by experiments, theories, and finite element method (FEM). By incorporating plate theory and the DE theory, the morphologies of DE wrinkles in limited ideal cases can be predicted [20,21,32,33]. Compared to a theoretical approach, FEM provides a more general solution to the prediction of wrinkles in various loading conditions [13,21,34,35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Numerical Approach Based on Finite Element Method for the Wrinkling Analysis of Dielectric Elastomer Membranes

Mao

Hong

Kaltenbrunner

et al. 2021

Journal of Applied Mechanics

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Dielectric elastomer (DE) actuators are deformable capacitors capable of a muscle-like actuation when charged. When subjected to voltage, DE membranes coated with compliant electrodes may form wrinkles due to the Maxwell stress. Here, we develop a numerical approach based on the finite element method (FEM) to predict the morphology of wrinkled DE membranes mounted on a rigid frame. The approach includes two steps, I) pre-buckling and II) post-buckling. In step I, the first buckling mode of the DE membrane is investigated by substituting the Maxwell stress with thermal stress in the built-in function of the FEM platform SIMULIA Abaqus. In step II, we use this first buckling mode as an artificial geometric imperfection to conduct the post-buckling analysis. For this purpose, we develop an equivalent model to simulate the mechanical behavior of DEs. Based on our approach, the thickness distribution and the thinnest site of the wrinkled DE membranes subjected to voltage are investigated. The simulations reveal that the crests/troughs of the wrinkles are the thinnest sites around the center of the membrane and corroborate these findings experimentally. Finally, we successfully predict the wrinkles of DE membranes mounted on an isosceles right triangle frame with various sizes of wrinkles generated simultaneously. These results shed light on the fundamental understanding of wrinkled dielectric elastomers but may also trigger new applications such as programmable wrinkles for optical devices or their prevention in DE actuators.

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