TY - JOUR
T1 - Axial force transmission in flexible bowtie dielectric elastomer actuators
AU - Lau, Gih Keong
AU - Chen, Fa Yi
AU - Ren, Zhe Xian
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Author(s).
PY - 2022/1/3
Y1 - 2022/1/3
N2 - A long strip of a pre-stretched dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) is necessary for strain accumulation, but it relaxes laterally and thickens non-uniformly. As compared to a short strip under the same voltage activation, the long relaxed strip is subjected to a less electric field and, thus, undergoes less active strain. Here, we developed a flexible ladder frame to reinforce and divide the long DEA in a bowtie series. When being pulled, the ladder frame unbuckled; it, in turn, helped to pre-stretch tautly the DEA membrane. Interestingly, its flanges enhance force transmissions, acting like tensioning cables for a suspension bridge. Hence, the maximum isometric stress of this bowtie series was 24% higher than the short pure-shear one and 6.5 times the long uniaxial one. With 2.2 times enhanced dielectric strength across a taut DEA membrane, the bowtie series generated an isotonic strain 3.2 times that a long non-reinforced and relaxed DEA did. Hence, the reinforced DEAs can provide a more forceful drive for bio-inspired robots.
AB - A long strip of a pre-stretched dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) is necessary for strain accumulation, but it relaxes laterally and thickens non-uniformly. As compared to a short strip under the same voltage activation, the long relaxed strip is subjected to a less electric field and, thus, undergoes less active strain. Here, we developed a flexible ladder frame to reinforce and divide the long DEA in a bowtie series. When being pulled, the ladder frame unbuckled; it, in turn, helped to pre-stretch tautly the DEA membrane. Interestingly, its flanges enhance force transmissions, acting like tensioning cables for a suspension bridge. Hence, the maximum isometric stress of this bowtie series was 24% higher than the short pure-shear one and 6.5 times the long uniaxial one. With 2.2 times enhanced dielectric strength across a taut DEA membrane, the bowtie series generated an isotonic strain 3.2 times that a long non-reinforced and relaxed DEA did. Hence, the reinforced DEAs can provide a more forceful drive for bio-inspired robots.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123004884&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1063/5.0072852
DO - 10.1063/5.0072852
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85123004884
SN - 0003-6951
VL - 120
JO - Applied Physics Letters
JF - Applied Physics Letters
IS - 1
M1 - 012903
ER -