A dielectric elastomer actuator is one class of soft actuators which can deform in response to voltage. Dielectric elastomer actuators coupled with liquid have recently been developed as soft pumps, soft lenses, Braille displays, etc. In this paper, we conduct experiments to investigate the performance of a dielectric elastomer actuator which is coupled with water. The membrane is subject to a constant water pressure, which is found to significantly affect the electromechanical behaviour of the membrane. When the pressure is small, the membrane suffers electrical breakdown before snap-through instability, and achieves a small voltage-induced deformation. When the pressure is higher to make the membrane near the verge of the instability, the membrane can achieve a giant voltage-induced deformation, with an area strain of 1165%. When the pressure is large, the membrane suffers pressure-induced snap-through instability and may collapse due to a large amount of liquid enclosed by the membrane. Theoretical analyses are conducted to interpret these experimental observations.

Date Published: 1 April 2015
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 9430, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2015, 94302C (1 April 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2082772

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9430:
Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2015
Yoseph Bar-Cohen, Editor(s)