摘要
Operation of a dielectric elastomer(DE)transducer is limited by the way it fails,and any other limits imposed by the user.For example,material rupture and dielectric breakdown are two examples of transducer failure,while tension loss is a user-imposed limit.Electromechanical instability may or may not result in transducer failure,but is often considered as a boundary to denote the onset of state transition.For a DE undergoing homogeneous deformation,constructing operational limits on work-conjugate state diagrams are rather straight-forward.However,for DE subjected to non-homogeneous deformation,the process is more complex.We present a method to plot the operational boundaries of a DE subject to non-homogeneous deformation,known commonly as the Universal Muscle Actuator or the loudspeaker configuration.Our analysis show that tension loss need not be imposed as a hard operational limit,and that there is further operational space for the transducer,post tension loss.By plotting the operational limits on work-conjugate planes,we determine an optimal inner-to-outer ring ratio and the required pre-stretches that maximize energy conversion.
基金
This work was supported by the Agency for Science,Technology and Research(Singapore)and Department of Science&Technology(India)(A*STAR-DST)[R-265-000-524-305(SERC 1425203140)]。
