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Fabrication Process of Silicone-based Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
Published on: February 1, 2016
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Instabilities in dielectric elastomers: buckling, wrinkling, and crumpling
Hareesh Godaba1, Zhi-Qian Zhang, Ujjaval Gupta
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, 117576, Singapore. mpezhuj@nus.edu.sg.
Soft Matter
|August 23, 2019
Summary
Voltage can induce instabilities like buckling, wrinkling, and crumpling in dielectric elastomer membranes. Prestretch levels determine the specific instability mode, with simulations matching experimental findings for soft device applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Mechanics of Materials
- Soft Robotics
Background:
- Thin sheets exhibit universal instabilities triggered by forces or surface tension.
- Dielectric elastomers are advanced materials with potential in soft robotics and devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate voltage-induced instabilities in dielectric elastomer membranes.
- To understand the influence of prestretch on instability modes.
- To validate experimental observations with finite element analysis.
Main Methods:
- Experimental observation of buckling, wrinkling, and crumpling in dielectric elastomer membranes under voltage.
- Systematic variation of prestretch levels to identify mode transitions.
- Finite element analysis to simulate and analyze the observed instability phenomena.
Main Results:
- Dielectric elastomer membranes exhibit voltage-induced buckling, wrinkling, and crumpling.
- Prestretch significantly dictates the instability mode: small prestretch leads to buckling, intermediate to wrinkling, and large to crumpling.
- Simulations using finite element analysis show strong agreement with experimental results.
Conclusions:
- Prestretch is a critical parameter controlling voltage-induced instability modes in dielectric elastomers.
- The findings enhance the understanding of dielectric elastomer behavior for soft device applications.
- This research supports the development of advanced soft devices and robots.
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