Research on output performance of dielectric elastomer actuators

Output pressure and output strain are two most important performance parameters of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs). In this research, effective pressure was educed from the perspective of energy conservation. A concept circular acrylic-polymer-based actuator was built with VHB4910 and graphite-silicon-elastomer mixture. Several groups of contrast experiments were performed. Theoretical analysis and experiment results indicated that boundary conditions affected strain output of actuators greatly and DEAs can get its highest output strain under equibiaxial prestrain condition. Output strain was not always monotonously rise with the increase of prestrain, and an appropriate prestrain ratio can improve maximum output strain of actuators up to several times. The changing of prestrain during actuating process also affected output strain greatly and should not be ignored in the design and application of DEAs.