Röntgen's electrode-free elastomer actuators without electromechanical pull-in instability

Electrical actuators made from films of dielectric elastomers coated on both sides with stretchable electrodes may potentially be applied in microrobotics, tactile and haptic interfaces, as well as in adaptive optical elements. Such actuators with compliant electrodes are sensitive to the pull-in el...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2010-03, Vol.107 (10), p.4505-4510
Main Authors: Keplinger, Christoph, Kaltenbrunner, Martin, Arnold, Nikita, Bauer, Siegfried
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Bending
Computer Simulation
Deformation
Dielectric materials
Dielectrics
Elastomers
Electric fields
Electric potential
Electric power
Electrochemistry - instrumentation
Electrochemistry - methods
Electrodes
Electrostatics
Energy
Kinetics
Models, Chemical
Physical Sciences
Static Electricity
Thermodynamics
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Summary:Electrical actuators made from films of dielectric elastomers coated on both sides with stretchable electrodes may potentially be applied in microrobotics, tactile and haptic interfaces, as well as in adaptive optical elements. Such actuators with compliant electrodes are sensitive to the pull-in electromechanical instability, limiting operational voltages and attainable deformations. Electrode-free actuators driven by sprayed-on electrical charges were first studied by Röntgen in 1880. They withstand much higher voltages and deformations and allow for electrically clamped (charge-controlled) thermodynamic states preventing electromechanical instabilities. The absence of electrodes allows for direct optical monitoring of the actuated elastomer, as well as for designing new 3D actuator configurations and adaptive optical elements.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0913461107