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Design and Characterization of an Equibiaxial Multi-Electrode Dielectric Elastomer Actuator
Simon Holzer1,2, Bhawnath Tiwari1,2, Stefania Konstantinidi1,2
1Integrated Actuators Laboratory (LAI), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Rue de la Maladière 71b, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 7, 2025
Summary
This study presents an equibiaxial dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) that achieves high strain (12.75%) for automation and miniaturization. The novel design optimizes actuator area usage, outperforming traditional designs.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Robotics
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Soft actuators are crucial for automation and miniaturization, with dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) offering high strain capabilities.
- Existing research on DEAs lacks a comprehensive approach to design, fabrication, modeling, and validation, particularly concerning multi-electrode integration for high strain.
- Optimizing DEA performance requires addressing the interaction of multiple electrodes and maximizing the use of the active actuation area.
Purpose of the Study:
- To detail the design, fabrication, modeling, and experimental validation of an equibiaxial dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA).
- To achieve optimized equibiaxial strain patterns by maximizing the utilization of the active actuation area.
- To demonstrate improved high-strain actuation performance compared to traditional DEA designs.
Main Methods:
- Development of an equibiaxial dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) design.
- Fabrication and integration of multiple electrodes to enhance actuation.
- Modeling and experimental validation of the DEA's performance under varying electrical fields.
- Characterization of strain patterns and actuation efficiency over the active area.
Main Results:
- The developed equibiaxial DEA achieved an equibiaxial strain of 12.75% at 60 V μm-1 over a 7 cm2 active area.
- This represents a 1.3-fold improvement in strain compared to traditional dot actuators.
- The design demonstrated optimized use of passive regions within the actuator, leading to enhanced performance.
Conclusions:
- The equibiaxial DEA offers a promising solution for applications requiring high strain and lightweight actuation, such as in biomedicine and microassembly.
- The optimized design and fabrication approach overcome limitations of previous DEA studies.
- This work provides a validated model for high-performance soft actuators, paving the way for advanced automation and miniaturized devices.
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