This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 9430, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Invited Panel Discussion, and Conference Committee listing.

Laser light sources have inherent advantages in terms of brightness and low beam divergence. However, the coherence of lasers causes speckle to form on the target. In this paper, we show how electroactive polymers can provide a compact and energy-efficient solution to reduce laser speckles. The design parameters are discussed. The speckle reducers are characterized both mechanically and optically. Finally, a case-study is presented, illustrating the implementation of the speckle reducer into a compact laser projector system.

This work investigates a passive Dielectric Elastomer Generator harvesting system which uses only diodes at the generator level. The resulting voltage-clamped topology is presented and its operating principles are explained. Analytical analyses using charge-voltage diagrams form the basis for quantifying the energy output and optimizing the bus voltages. It is shown that for most cycles the energy output tends to be lower compared to active harvesting systems with dedicated converters for each generator, yet the maturity and simplicity make it a preferred solution for short-term deployment. An outlook towards industrialization applied to SBM Offshore’s S3 Wave Energy Converter highlights the advantages of the passive system: simple, robust and low-cost operation using reliable and proven components.

To enable a continuous operation of a DEAP transducer, the feeding power electronics must provide the capability to charge and discharge the transducer to enable a continuous voltage adjustment. While in case of energy harvesting applications a bidirectional power electronics is mandatory, for actuator applications also unidirectional power electronics with active discharging circuits can be used. Thus, in this contribution a bidirectional flyback-converter is compared to a unidirectional with different discharging circuits. For this purpose, the design of a resistive and an inductive-resistive discharging circuit is proposed, that are connected in parallel to the DEAP and activated when required. Modulation schemes for both discharging circuits are derived that enable a continuous voltage control. Based on realized prototypes of the investigated topologies the different converters are finally compared to each other.

Dielectric electro active polymer (DEAP) can be used in actuation, sensing and energy harvesting applications, but driving the DEAP based actuators and generators has three main challenges from a power electronics standpoint, i.e. high voltage (around 2.5 kV), nonlinearity, and capacitive behavior. In this paper, electronics divers for heating valves, loud speakers, incremental motors, and energy harvesting are reviewed, studied and developed in accordance with their corresponding specifications. Due to the simplicity and low power capacity (below 10W), the reversible Fly-back converters with both magnetic and piezoelectric transformers are employed for the heating valve and incremental motor application, where only ON/OFF regulation is adopted for energy saving; as for DEAP based energy harvesting, the noisolated Buck/Boost converter is used, due to the system high power capacity (above 100W), but the voltage balancing across the series-connected high voltage IGBTs is a critical issue and accordingly a novel gate driver circuitry is proposed and equipped; due to the requirements of the audio products, such as low distortion and noise, the multi-level Buck converter based Class-D amplifier, because of its high control linearity, is implemented for the loud speaker applications. A synthesis among those converter topologies and control techniques is given; therefore, for those DEAP based applications, their diversity and similarity of electronics drivers, as well as the key technologies employed are analyzed. Therefore a whole picture of how to choose the proper topologies can be revealed. Finally, the design guidelines in order to achieve high efficiency and reliability are discussed.

Dielectric elastomer transducers (DETs) are known for their large strains, low mass and high compliance, making them very attractive for a broad range of applications, from soft robotics to tuneable optics, or energy harvesting. However, 15 years after the first major paper in the field, commercial applications of the technology are still scarce, owing to high driving voltages, short lifetimes, slow response speed, viscoelastic drift, and no optimal solution for the compliant electrodes. At the EPFL's Microsystems for Space Technologies laboratory, we have been working on the miniaturization and manufacturability of DETs for the past 10 years. In the frame of this talk, we present our fabrication processes for high quality thin-_lm silicone membranes, and for patterning compliant electrodes on the sub mm-scale. We use either implantation of gold nano-clusters through a mask, or pad-printing of conductive rubber to precisely shape the electrodes on the dielectric membrane. Our electrodes are compliant, time stable and present strong adhesion to the membrane. The combination of low mechanical- loss elastomers with robust and precisely-defined electrodes allows for the fabrication of very fast actuators that exhibit a long lifetime. We present different applications of our DET fabrication process, such as a soft tuneable lens with a settling time smaller than 175 microseconds, a motor spinning at 1500 rpm, and a self-commutating rolling robot.

It has been the dream of many scientists to create polymeric materials with simultaneously high dielectric permittivity, low glass transition temperature, and excellent elastomeric properties. Such material would be a highly attractive dielectricum in electromechanical actuators. Within this topic we are focusing on silicones because of their excellent elastomeric properties over a wide temperature and frequency range combined with low glass transition temperatures. To increase their low permittivity, we followed different approaches which include: blending the matrix with highly polarizable conductive and polar nanofillers and chemical modification of the silicones with polar side groups. This AC340presentation will show the advantages and disadvantages of the two strategies we have been following and will provide an assessment of their future potentials.

Fecal incontinence describes the involuntary loss of bowel content and affects about 45 % of retirement home residents and overall more than 12 % of the adult population. Artificial sphincter implants for treating incontinence are currently based on mechanical systems with failure rates resulting in revision after three to five years. To overcome this drawback, artificial muscle sphincters based on bio-mimetic electro-active polymer (EAP) actuators are under development. Such implants require polymer films that are nanometer-thin, allowing actuation below 24 V, and electrodes that are stretchable, remaining conductive at strains of about 10 %. Strain-dependent resistivity measurements reveal an enhanced conductivity of 10 nm compared to 30 nm sputtered Au on silicone for strains higher than 5 %. Thus, strain-dependent morphology characterization with optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy could demonstrate these phenomena. Cantilever bending measurements are utilized to determine elastic/viscoelastic properties of the EAP films as well as their long-term actuation behavior. Controlling these properties enables the adjustment of growth parameters of nanometer-thin EAP actuators.

Circular dielectric electro-active polymer (DEAP) membrane actuators are easy to manufacture and therefore can be uniquely designed to perform optimally for specific applications. The performance of these actuators is naturally dependent on the materials used, and also dictated by the specific geometry of the circular design. For a given overall actuator size, changing their internal geometry will directly change the force and stroke output. In addition the DEAP technology itself is a promising technology for constructing lightweight, cost and energy efficient sensor and actuator systems. Thus, several potential applications like pressure sensors, pumps, valves, micro-positioners and loudspeakers were already proposed. The circular DEAP membrane actuators used in this study consist of a silicone based elastomer, carbon ink based electrodes, and are held together with a stiff frame. Experimentally collected force-displacement curves for these actuators can be used to determine force and stroke output of the actuators as described by Hodgins et al. in. This work presents an efficient method to predict these force-displacement plots and thus stroke and force output for different actuator geometries. These results than can be used to adapt the actuator geometry to the needs of a specific application with its particular force and stroke requirements. The prediction method is based on an average stress-stretch calculation for training samples. The calculated stress-stretch data is then geometry independent and can be used to predict desired geometry dependent force-displacement data for stroke and force output analysis.

During the operation of a dielectric elastomer generator (DEG) the energy harvested should be maximized. A higher electrical field strength in the DEG leads to a higher energy gain. However, the applied electrical field strength is restricted due to the dielectric breakdown field strength of the dielectric elastomer in the generator. For appropriate operation of the generator the dielectric breakdown field strength of the elastomer has to be known. From literature it is known that the breakdown strength of polymers depends on several parameters like the thickness of the material and the electrode shape. In this work, the dielectric breakdown strength of a novel PDMS thin film material for the fabrication of dielectric elastomer transducers developed by Wacker Chemie AG is investigated. Several PDMS film thicknesses are compared to determine the influence of the film thickness on the breakdown strength. The results show that the expected inverse thickness dependence of the breakdown strength is not valid for the new film material. In fact, no significant thickness dependence of the dielectric breakdown field strength is existent. The electrical characteristics of the measurement setup used for characterization of the dielectric breakdown field strength of the PDMS thin films are investigated using numerical simulations to determine the influence of the electrode shape.

The high spatial, temporal, and thermal resolution of the thermal imaging system Optotherm EL InfraSight 320 is used for investigation of the thermal behavior of the ionic electroactive polymer (IEAP) actuators. The resolution of 10-20 pixels in the direction of their thickness is close to the theoretical limit restrained by the infrared light wavelength registered by the imaging system. The videos, recorded with the frame rate of 30 fps, demonstrate showy the propagation of heat along the membrane. The analysis of the thermal images provides the foundation for precise modeling of the IEAP actuators, taking into account the thermally induced mechanical and electrochemical effects. Experiments conducted with the IEAP actuators of different types (ionic polymer-metal composite, carbon-polymer composite, conducting polymer actuators) allow comparing their efficiencies. The experiments show demonstrable, that the IEAPs, used improperly, overheat to the inadmissible temperatures within seconds only. This, in turn, evaporizes the volatile electrolyte, and shortens the life expectancy of the IEAP devices.

Ionic electroactive polymers have been widely studied, wherein the electrically induced ionic motion generates an actuation response. The electromechanical bending observed in these polymers is due to the size difference between two types of ions which results in an unequal expansion and contraction between the two sides. Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) is a biodegradable, renewable, and inexpensive biomass derivative. Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) is also biodegradable and a well-known solid-state electrolyte capable of having both cations and anions diffuse through its matrix under an applied electric field. In this study, NCC is mixed with the PEO to make 0-3 composites with increased Young’s modulus and improved actuation performance. Experimental results showed that the time-dependent strain response for these composites followed an Arrhenius behavior. Using the Stokes- Einstein model, the flux of the ions within in the polymer matrix were defined as charged, spherical particles moving through a viscous medium with low Reynold’s number. This new approach makes it possible to calculate parameters that may otherwise have been difficult or impossible to obtain. In this work, calculations for these properties, such as: apparent ionic diffusion coefficient, ionic velocity, and the dynamic viscosity of the matrix material are analyzed and presented. For example, the parameters for PEO-NCC composites doped with 5.0 wt.% lithium were calculated to be 3.58e-10 cm²/s, 102 nm/s, and 275 Poise, respectively. Electroactive polyvinylidene fluoride films were also synthesized for comparison and refinement of the introduced model.

In this paper, we propose a novel modeling framework to study quasi-static large deformations and electrochemistry of ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs). The chemoelectromechanical constitutive behavior is obtained from a Helmholtz free energy density, which accounts for mechanical stretching, ion mixing, and electric polarization. The framework is specialized to plane bending of thin IPMCs through a structural model, where the bending moment of the IPMC is computed from a one-dimensional modified Poisson-Nernst-Planck system. For small static deformations, we establish a semianalytical solution based on the method of matched asymptotic expansions, which we ultimately use to elucidate the physics of IPMC sensing and actuation.

Hair-like sensors are very common in natural and biological systems. Such sensors are used to measure acoustic pressures, fluid flows, and chemical concentrations among others. Hair-like actuators are also used to control fluid flows and perform temperature management. This study presents a manufacturing technique for a hair-like IPMC transducer. A thorough study is presented on the building process of the sensor. The method used to control the diameter and the electrodes thickness of the transducer is developed. The sensing behavior of the manufactured transducers is experimentally characterized.

Dielectric Elastomers (DE) are incompressible polymeric solids that experience finite elastic deformations and are electrically non-conductive. Stacking multiple DE films separated by compliant electrodes makes a deformable capacitor transducer, namely a DE Transducer (DET), which can expand in area while shrinking in thickness and vice versa. DETs can be used as solid-state actuators, sensors and generators. The development of an effective DET requires the accurate knowledge of the constitutive behavior of the employed DE material. In this context, this paper reports the experimental results of the electromechanical characterization of a new synthetic rubber membrane (TheraBan^TM Latex Free Resistance Band Yellow (P/N #11726), or TheraBand LFRB-Y in short) to be used as elastic dielectric in DETs. Comparison of the obtained results with those of the best quoted Natural Rubber membrane (OPPO BAND 8003) is also provided that shows the superior performances of TheraBand LFRB-Y both in terms of reduced mechanical hysteresis and of higher dielectric strength stability to ambient wetness conditions.

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are smart materials that can be optimized by modifying the dielectric or mechanical properties of the electroactive polymer. The incorporation of inorganic particles in silicone elastomers shows a permittivity enhancement and undesired stiffening. We present another concept to obtain comparable properties by dipole grafting. Therefore, the organic dipole N-ally-N-methyl-4-nitroaniline is grafted in competition with the vinyl terminated PDMS to a hydrosilane cross-linker forming the PDMS network. With this procedure PDMS films with up to 25 wt% of the dipole were solvent casted and the chemical, mechanical, electrical, plus electromechanical properties of these novel materials were investigated.

Rolled dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA), which are prepared by rolling up a flat dielectric elastomer , are subjected to non-homogenous deformation and thus does not perform as well as the flat ones. Typically, the rolled ones reported actuation of not more than 37.3% axial strain; whereas the flat one undergoing pure-shear deformation reported much greater actuation . This study shows that oil encapsulation helps the rolled DEA suppress pre-mature breakdown. Under isotonic test, oil-encapsulated tubular DEAs sustain very high electric field of up to 712.0 MV/m, which is 50% higher than that of the dry DEAs. Hence, it can produce up to 50% axial strain while deforming the passive oil capsules. In addition, it produces an isometric stress up to nearly 0.6 MPa, 114% higher than that of the dry one.

In this paper, the characterization and electromechanical stability behavior of nano sized BaTiO₃ particle filled dielectric elastomer has been analyzed experimentally and theoretically. The free energy function involving a new dielectric energy density function and Mooney-Rivlin elastic strain energy function has been used to carry out the analysis. To give a comprehensive dielectric energy function, the influence of the BaTiO₃ weight fraction on the dielectric property of the dielectric elastomer has been considered. The analytical results show that with the increasing weight fraction of BaTiO₃ or the electrostrictive factor, the critical electric field of silicone elastomer decreases, i.e. the elastomer’s stability is reduced. Meanwhile, with the increasing material constant ratio k which is the ratio of the two material constants appeared in the Mooney-Rivilin elastic strain energy function, the critical nominal electric field will increase. These results are useful in not only helping us to understand the influence of the filled nano-BaTiO3 particles on the electromechanical stability of silicone dielectric elastomer, but also giving great guidance to obtain specific dielectric elastomer actuators to meet the demand of users by changing the dielectric property of the elastomer.

This paper presents the synthesis and characterization of thin and ultra-fast conducting polymer microactuators which can operate in the open air. Compared to all previous existing electronic conducting polymer based microactuators, this approach deals with the synthesis of robust interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) combined with a spincoating technique in order to tune and drastically reduce the thickness of conducting IPN microactuators using a so-called “trilayer” configuration. Patterning of electroactive materials has been performed with existing technologies, such as standard photolithography and dry etching. The smallest air-operating microbeam actuator based on conducting polymer is then described with dimensions as low as 160x30x6 μm3. Under electrical stimulation the translations of small ion motion into bending deformations are used as tools to demonstrate that small ion vibrations can still occur at frequency as several hundreds of Hz. Conducting IPN microactuators are then promising candidates to develop new MEMS combining downscaling, softness, low driving voltage, and fast response speed.

Bucky-gel laminates are tri-layer structures where polymeric electrolyte film is sandwiched between two compliant electrode layers of carbon nanotubes and ionic liquid. The resulting ionic and capacitive structures, being regarded as a type of electromechanically active polymers (EAP), have the perspective of becoming soft bending actuators in the fields such as biomimetic robotics or lab-on-chip technology. A typical electromechanical step response of a bucky-gel actuator in a cantilever configuration exhibits a fast bending displacement followed by some reverse motion referred to as the back-relaxation. It has been proposed that the bending but also the back-relaxation of bucky-gel laminates occur due to the relocation of cations and anions within the tri-layer structure. A great number of modeling about ionic EAP materials aims to predict the amplitude of free bending or the blocking force of the actuator. However, as the bucky-gel laminates are viscoelastic, the translation from generated force to bending amplitude is not always straightforward – it can take the form of an integro-differential equation with speed (i.e. the amplitude and type of the input signal) and temperature (i.e. the electronic conductivity of the material and driving current) as just some of the parameters. In this study we propose to use a so-called two carrier-model to analyze the electromechanical response of a bucky-gel actuator. After modifying the electrical equivalent circuit, the time domain response of blocking force is measured to elaborate the ionic mechanisms during the work-cycle of bucky-gel actuator.

Ionic electroactive polymer (IEAP) laminates are often considered as perspective actuator technology for mobile robotic appliances; however, only a few real proof-of-concept-stage robots have been built previously, a majority of which are dependent on an off-board power supply. In this work, a power-autonomous robot, propelled by four IEAP actuators having carbonaceous electrodes, is constructed. The robot consists of a light outer section in the form of a hollow cylinder, and a heavy inner section, referred to as the rim and the hub, respectively. The hub is connected to the rim using IEAP actuators, which form ‘spokes’ of variable length. The effective length of the spokes is changed via charging and discharging of the capacitive IEAP actuators and a change in the effective lengths of the spokes eventuate in a rolling motion of the robot. The constructed IEAP robot takes advantage of the distinctive properties of the IEAP actuators. The IEAP actuators transform the geometry of the whole robot, while being soft and compliant. The low-voltage IEAP actuators in the robot are powered directly from an embedded single-cell lithium-ion battery, with no voltage regulation required; instead, only the input current is regulated. The charging of the actuators is commuted correspondingly to the robot’s transitory position using an on-board control electronics. The constructed robot is able to roll for an extended period on a smooth surface. The locomotion of the IEAP robot is analyzed using video recognition.

Ionic electroactive polymers or IEAPs are considered as an attractive actuators and sensors in various applications. Many of these polymer composites are designed to be used in an ambient environment. However, the ambient conditions may significantly vary depending on the seasonal or the geographical irregularities generated by the power of nature.

Taking the advantage of the fluctuating weather conditions of Estonia, different IEAP materials were continuously monitored for about 6 weeks. During this time the temperature and relative humidity of the ambient environment varied between 30-58 % and 23-29 °C respectively. The experiment was conducted in a non-air-conditioned lab facility where the parameters such as temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure were registered. Concurrently the electromechanical impedance of 12 actuators of different types was registered. This setup brings out the degradation as well as the impact of the environment to the IEAP actuators. The analysis reveals that the performance of the actuators under research is highly correlated with the ambient relative humidity level which can increase or decrease their performance more than 2 times. Naturally, this issue needs to be addressed in characterization, modeling and control areas. In contrast, the changes of pressure and temperature appeared to have no significant influence on the performance of the actuators investigated

The research is focused on lifetime and degradation of ionic electroactive polymer actuators (IEAP). The lifetime measurements were carried out using identical methodology upon the different IEAP types. The experiment conducted with large number of samples shows that two types of degradation have serious effect to the IEAPs: degradation during operation and spontaneous self-degradation. Additionally, two ways of occasional damage decrease their overall reliability. In the scope of the current paper we describe degradation of two different types of IEAP actuators: with carbonaceous electrodes and with conducting polymer electrodes. Nevertheless, the common evolutionary trends, rather than the comparative data analysis or formal statistics of all particular samples, are given. Analyzing the electromechanical and electrical impedances of the samples during their whole lifetime, we have found that observing the electric current gives adequate information about the degradation level of any IEAP actuator. Moreover, tracking this electrically measurable parameter enables detecting the occasional damage of an actuator.

The energy density of dielectric elastomers (DEs) is sought increased for better exploitation of the DE technology since an increased energy density means that the driving voltage for a certain strain can be lowered in actuation mode or alternatively that more energy can be harvested in generator mode. One way to increase the energy density is to increase dielectric permittivity of the elastomer. A novel silicone elastomer system with high dielectric permittivity was prepared through the development of interpenetrating networks from ionically assembled silicone polymers and covalently crosslinked silicones. The system has many degrees of freedom since the ionic network is formed from two polymers (amine and carboxylic acid functional, respectively) of which the chain lengths can be varied, as well as the covalent silicone elastomer with many degrees of freedom arising from amongst many the varying content of silica particles. A parameter study is performed to elucidate which compositions are most favorable for the use as dielectric elastomers. The elastomers were furthermore shown to be self-repairing upon electrical breakdown.

Recently, materials that can convert electrical energy into mechanical work have drawn great attention. Applications in robotics, tactile or optical displays and microelectrochemical systems are currently investigated. Likewise, interest in actuators devices is increasing toward applications where low voltage and low weight properties are required. One way to achieve such prerequisites is to combine the mechanical and electronic properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with the stability and conductivity of ionic liquids. Indeed, the CNTs can be dispersed in ionic liquids to form hybrid composites also named bucky gels, thanks to the non-covalent (π-π stacking and cation-π) interactions. In our previous studies, we demonstrated an improvement in actuator performance whilst using cross-linked CNTs. Indeed, our preliminary results showed an increase in the capacitance together with a faster response of the actuator. At the time, these results were explained by an actuation mechanism model.

Herein, we designed new experiments in order to allow us to get a deeper insight in the effect the crosslinking process on the carbon nanotubes properties. Thus, we present a set of electromechanical and electrochemical data that shed light on the chemical modification of the CNTs, the different cross-linking strategies and also on the uses of cross-linked CNTS polymer blends. Finally, corresponding bucky gels actuators performances will also be discussed.

Ionic liquid/carbon nanotube based actuators have been constantly improved in recent years owing to their suitability for applications related to human-machine interaction and robotics thanks to their light-weight and low voltage operation. However, while great attention has been paid to the development of better electrodes and electrolytes, no adequate efforts were made to develop actuators to be used in direct contact with the human skin. Herein, we present our approach, based on the use of parylene-C coating. Indeed, owning to its physicochemical properties such as high dielectric strength, resistance to solvents, biological and chemical inactivity/inertness, parylene fulfils the requirements for use in biocompatible actuator fabrication. In this paper, we study the influence of the parylene coating on the actuator performance. To do so, we analyzed its mechanical and electrochemical properties. We looked into the role of parylene as a protection layer that can prevent alteration of the actuator performance likely caused by external conditions. In order to complete our study, we designed a haptic device and investigated the generated force, displacement and energy usage.

The development of thin-film dielectric elastomer strain sensors for the characterization of smooth muscle cell (SMC) contraction is presented here. Smooth muscle disorders are an integral part of diseases such as asthma and emphysema. Analytical tools enabling the characterization of SMC function i.e. contractile force and strain, in a low-cost and highly parallelized manner are necessary for toxicology screening and for the development of new and more effective drugs. The main challenge with the design of such tools is the accurate measurement of the extremely low contractile cell forces expected as a result of SMC monolayer contraction (as low as ~ 100 μN). Our approach utilizes ultrathin (~5 μm) and soft elastomer membranes patterned with elastomer-carbon composite electrodes, onto which the SMCs are cultured. The cell contraction induces an in-plane strain in the elastomer membrane, predicted to be in the order 1 %, which can be measured via the change in the membrane capacitance. The cell force can subsequently be deduced knowing the mechanical properties of the elastomer membrane. We discuss the materials and fabrication methods selected for our system and present preliminary results indicating their biocompatibility. We fabricate functional capacitive senor prototypes with good signal stability over the several hours (~ 0.5% variation). We succeed in measuring in-plane strains of 1 % with our fabricated devices with good repeatability and signal to noise ratio.

In this paper, we developed a resistance tactile sensor that can detect a slip on the surface of sensor structure. The presented sensor device has fingerprint-like structures that are similar with the role of the humans finger print. The resistance slip sensor that the novel developed uses acrylo-nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) as a dielectric substrate and graphene as an electrode material. We can measure the slip as the structure of sensor makes a deformation and it changes the resistance through forming a new conductive route. To manufacture our sensor, we developed a new imprint process. By using this process, we can produce sensor with micro unit structure. To verify effectiveness of the proposed slip detection, experiment using prototype of resistance slip sensor is conducted with an algorithm to detect slip and slip is successfully detected. We will discuss the slip detection properties.

Methods and materials for liquid encapsulation in thin (19 μm) silicone membranes are presented in this work. A set of 12 liquids including solvents, oils, silicone pre-polymers and one ionic liquid are experimentally tested. We show that all selected liquids are chemically inert to silicone and that vapor pressure is the key parameter for stable encapsulation. It is demonstrated that encapsulated volume of silicone pre-polymers and ionic liquids can stay stable for more than 1 month.

The actuation of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) in conductive liquids is also investigated. An analysis of the equivalent electrical circuits of immersed DEAs shows that non-overlapping regions of the electrodes should be minimized. It also provides guidelines to determine when the electrodes should be passivated. The effects of immersion in a conductive liquid are assessed by measuring the actuation strain and capacitance over periodic actuation. The experimental results show no sign of liquid-induced degradation over more than 45k actuation cycles.

High driving voltages currently limit the commercial potential of dielectric elastomers (DEs). One method used to lower driving voltage is to increase dielectric permittivity of the elastomer. A novel silicone elastomer system with high dielectric permittivity was prepared through the synthesis of siloxane copolymers, thereby allowing for the attachment of high dielectric permittivity molecules through copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (CuAAC). The synthesized copolymers allow for a high degree of chemical freedom, as several parameters can be varied during the preparation phase. Thus, the space between the functional groups can be varied, by using different dimethylsiloxane spacer units between the dipolar molecules. Furthermore, the degree of functionalization can be varied accurately by changing the feed of dipolar molecules. As a result, a completely tunable elastomer system, with respect to functionalization, is achieved. It is investigated how the different functionalization variables affect essential DE properties, including dielectric permittivity, dielectric loss, elastic modulus and dielectric breakdown strength, and the optimal degree of chemical functionalization, where these important properties are not significantly compromised, is also determined. Thus, the best overall properties were obtained for a silicone elastomer prepared with 5.6 wt% of the dipolar molecule 1-ethynyl-4-nitrobenzene. Here, a high increase in dielectric permittivity (~70%) was obtained without compromising other vital DE properties such as elastic modulus, gel fraction, dielectric and viscous loss and electrical breakdown strength.

Material characteristics such as adhesion and dielectric strength have well recognized dependencies on material thickness. There is disagreement, however, on the scale: the long held dictum that dielectric strength is inversely proportional to the square root of sample thickness has been shown to not always hold true for all materials, nor for all possible thickness regions. In D-EAP applications some studies have postulated a “critical thickness” below which properties show significantly less thickness dependency.

While a great deal of data is available for dielectric strength, other properties are not nearly as well documented as samples get thinner. In particular, elastic modulus has been found to increase and elongation to decrease as sample thickness is lowered. This trend can be observed experimentally, but has been rarely reported and certainly does not appear in typical suppliers’ product data sheets.

Both published and newly generated data were used to study properties such as elastic modulus and dielectric strength vs sample thickness in silicone elastomers. Several theories are examined to explain such behavior, such as the impact of defect size and of common (but not well reported) concentration gradients that occur during elastomer curing that create micron-sized layers at the upper and lower interfaces with divergent properties to the bulk material.

As Dielectric Electro-Active Polymer applications strive to lower and lower material thickness, changing mechanical properties must be recognized and taken into consideration for accurate electro-mechanical predictions of performance.

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have a lot of advantages such as high energy efficiency, unrivaled power-toweight ratio and soft structure. Furthermore this new kind of actuator is capable of sensing its deformation and status without additional sensing devices. Therefore, DEAs are acknowledged as self-sensing actuators. In this contribution a new self-sensing technique for DEAs is presented, in which the capacitance of DEAs under deformation is measured using high voltage signals. For this purpose, simple signal processing algorithms and a novel method of superimposing actuating and sensing signals are implemented. By connecting the ground potential electrode of the DEA to a sinusoidal sensing signal, the DEA is used as a passive first order high-pass filter. The other electrode of the DEA is connected to the actuation voltage, which is superimposed with the sinusoidal signal. The amplitude of this signal is basically dependent on the capacitance of the actuator. Therefore, the change of the capacitance induced by contraction of the actuator alters the amplitude of the sinusoidal signal. The amplitude change can then be interpreted as capacity change and can be used to estimate the mechanical deformation of the DEA. In comparison to existing methods, this approach is promising for a miniaturized circuit and therefore for later use in mobile systems. In this paper, the new concept of superimposing actuating and sensing signals for self-sensing DEAs is validated with an experimental setup and several known capacities. The first results are presented and discussed in detail.

Dielectric elastomers such as 3M VHB4910 acrylate film have been widely used for electromechanical energy conversion such as actuators, sensors and generators, due to their lightweight, high efficiency, low cost and high energy density. Mechanical and electric properties of such materials have been deeply investigated according to various parameters (temperature, frequency, pre-stress, nature of the compliant electrodes…). Models integrating analytic laws deduced from experiments increase their accuracy. Nevertheless, leakage current and electrical breakdown reduce the efficiency and the lifetime of devices made with these polymers. These two major phenomena are not deeply investigated in the literature. Thus, this paper describes the current-voltage characteristics of acrylate 3M VHB4910 and investigates the stability of the current under high electric field (kV) for various temperatures (from 20°C to 80°C) and over short (300 s) and long (12h) periods. Experimental results show that, with gold electrodes at ambient temperature, the current decreases with time to a stable value corresponding to the conduction current. This decrease occurs during 6 hours, whereas in the literature values of current at short time (less than 1 hour) are generally reported. This decrease can be explained by relaxations mechanisms in the polymer. Schottky emission and Poole-Frenkel emission are both evaluated to explain the leakage current. It emerges from this study that the Schottky effect constitutes the main mechanism of electric current in the 3M VHB4910. For high temperatures, the steady state is reached quickly. To end, first results on the leakage current changes for pre-stretch VHB4910 complete this study.

There is a growing demand for human-friendly robots that can interact and work closely with humans. Such robots need to be compliant, lightweight and equipped with silent and soft actuators. Electroactive polymers such as conducting polymers (CPs) are “smart” materials that deform in response to electrical simulation and are often addressed as artificial muscles due to their functional similarity with natural muscles. They offer unique possibilities and are perfect candidates for such actuators since they are lightweight, silent, and driven at low voltages. Most CP actuators are fabricated using electrochemical oxidative synthesis. We have developed new CP based fibres employing both vapour phase and liquid phase electrochemical synthesis. We will present the fabrication and characterisation of these fibres as well as their performance as linear actuators.

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) present prospective use in actuation and manipulation devices due to their low electrical activation requirements, biocompatibility, and mechanical performance. One of the main drawbacks with EAP actuators is a decrease in performance over extended periods of operation caused by over-oxidation of the polymer and general polymer degradation. Synthesis of the EAP material, polypyrrole with an embedded metal helix allows for sequential growth of the polymer during operation. The helical metal electrode acts as a scaffolding to support the polymer, and direct the 3-dimensional change in volume of the polymer along the axis of the helix during oxidative and reductive cycling. The metal helix also provides a working metal electrode through the entire length of the polymer actuator to distribute charge for actuation, as well as for sequential growth steps during the lifetime of operation of the polymer. This work demonstrates the method of sequential growth can be utilized after extended periods of use to partially restore electrical and mechanical performance of polypyrrole actuators. Since the actuation must be temporarily stopped to allow for a sequential growth cycle to be performed and reverse some of the polymer degradation, these actuator systems more closely mimic natural muscle in their analogous maintenance and repair.

We report a fabricating method for ion-conducting carbon electrodes on top of industrially produced PVDF membrane by spin-coating. Spin-coating is desirable due to its potential application in large-scale actuator manufacturing and its possibility to produce very thin electrodes. The industrial grade membrane was chosen in order to investigate more accurately the results of spin-coating without considering the deviations present in a hand-made membrane. Spin-coating and surface resistivity measurements via four-point probe were described in further detail. The production process of electrode suspension and suspension dispensing were developed and fine-tuned. The spin coater was programmed to obtain electrodes with uniform electrical properties. The arrangement of the spin coater was slightly altered to remove swelling and bubble formation effects concurrent with usage of the porous membrane. Electrodes produced with the developed method were measured and analyzed. Thickness of the film was measured with micrometer screw gauge and four-point probe was used to measure sheet resistivity, in addition film was studied under scanning electron microscope. In best cases the coefficient of variation for sheet conductivity was 6.2%. For all electrode sheet conductivities the median coefficient of variation was 7%. The thickness of the electrodes varied from 6 to 23 μm. As a proof of concept for the developed method a working actuator with spin-coated electrodes was produced.

Trilayer actuators enable large mechanical amplification, but at the expense of force. Thicker trilayers can generate more force, but displacement drops. Ideally of course a combination of high force and large displacement is desirable. In this work we explore the stacking of trilayers driven by conducting polymers in order to combine large force and reasonable deflection. Trilayer actuators operating in air are simulated using the finite element method. Force generated and the maximum beam deflection of individual and multiple stacked trilayers are studied in terms of the interface condition of the neighboring layers and the length of the auxiliary trilayer. The best performance is obtained when trilayers are able to slide with respect to each other so forces can add without impeding displacement. This case will require low friction and uniformity among the trilayers. Bonding of stacked trilayers along their entire length increases force, but dramatically reduces displacement. An alternative which leads to moderate displacements with increased force is the use of a long and a short trilayer that are bonded.

Free standing conducting polymer films based on polypyrrole doped with dodecylbenzoesulfate (PPyDBS) are investigated in TBACF3SO3 (tetrabutylammonium trifluoromethanesulfonate) propylene carbonate (PC-Tf) followed in aqueous TMACl tetramethylammonium chloride (Aq-TM) with the aim to investigate actuation properties (anion or cation-driven actuation). Under isometric (constant force) conditions ECMD (electro-chemo-mechanical deformation) measurements are performed during cyclic voltammetric and chronoamperometric experiments. Electrolyte and solvent effects revealing that the actuation direction in propylene carbonate electrolyte changed from expansion at anodic potential to expansion at cathodic potentials during square wave potential steps. Finally if the PPyDBS film immersed in aqueous electrolyte the anion-driven actuation properties are maintenance. SEM measurements are implemented to reefer changes in film morphology and ion content (EDX, energy dispersive X-Ray) before and after actuation.

Dielectric elastomers (DEs) have many favourable properties. The obstacle of high driving voltages, however, limits the commercial viability of the technology at present. Driving voltage can be lowered by decreasing the Young’s modulus and increasing the dielectric permittivity of silicone elastomers. A decrease in Young’s modulus, however, is often accompanied by the loss of mechanical stability and thereby the lifetime of the DE. New soft elastomer matrices with high dielectric permittivity and low Young’s modulus, with no loss of mechanical stability, were prepared by two different approaches using chloropropyl-functional silicone polymers. The first approach was based on synthesised chloropropyl-functional copolymers that were cross-linkable and thereby formed the basis of new silicone networks with high dielectric permittivity (e.g. a 43% increase). These networks were soft without compromising other important properties of DEs such as viscous and dielectric losses as well as electrical breakdown strength. The second approach was based on the addition of commercially available chloropropyl-functional silicone oil to commercial LSR silicone elastomer. Two-fold increase in permittivity was obtained by this method and the silicone oil decreased the Young’s modulus significantly. The viscous losses, however, also increased with increasing content of silicone oil. Cross-linkable chloropropyl-functional copolymers offer a new silicone elastomer matrix that could form the basis of dielectric elastomers of the future, whereas the chloropropyl silicone oil approach is an easy tool for improvement of the properties of existing commercial silicone elastomers.

Despite a growing interest in conducting polymer based actuators, a robust fabrication technique is still needed. We suggest a fabrication method that allows fast production of conducting polymer actuators from commercially available polyvinylidene flouride membranes (PVDF) and a PEDOT/PSS solution. In order to improve adhesion of those materials, Ar plasma induced grafting is used to create hydrophilic surfaces of up to 40 μm. Hydrophilic PVDF-graft-polyethylene glycol allows diffusion of PEDOT/PSS in the pores of the membranes, while hydrophobic middle layers prevent short circuits. In this way, soft actuators can be fabricated by consequent drop casting and drying of conducting polymer.

Three dimensional responsive structures have high value for the application of responsive hydrogels in various fields such as micro fluid control, tissue engineering and micro robot. Whereas various hydrogels with stimuli-responsive behaviors have been developed, designing and fabricating of the three dimensional responsive structures remain challenging. We develop a temperature responsive double network hydrogel with novel fabrication methods to assemble the complex three dimensional responsive structures. The shape changing behavior of the structures can be significantly increased by building blocks with various responsiveness. Mechanical instability is built into the structure with the proper design and enhance the performance of the structure. Finite element simulation are conducted to guide the design and investigate the responsive behavior of the hydrogel structures

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are smart materials that gained much in interest particularly in recent years. One active field of research is the improvement of their properties by modification of their structural framework. The object of this work is to improve the actuation properties of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based DEAs by covalent incorporation of mono-vinyl-terminated low-molecular PDMS chains into the PDMS network. These low-molecular units act as a kind of softener within the PDMS network. The loose chain ends interfere with the network formation and lower the network’s density. PDMS films with up to 50wt% of low-molecular PDMS additives were manufactured and the chemical, mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical properties of these novel materials were investigated.

Ionic hydrogels belong to the class of polyelectrolyte gels or ionic gels. Their ability to swell or shrink under different environmental conditions such as change of pH, ion concentration or temperature make them promising materials, e.g. for microsensoric or microactuatoric devices. The hydrogel swelling exhibits nonlinear effects due to the occurrence of different interacting transport phenomena. Numerical simulations are an essential part in the ongoing development of microsensors and microactuators. In order to determine transport effects due to diffusion, migration and convection a multiphase mesoscale model based on the Theory of Porous Media is applied. The governing field equations are solved in the transient regime by applying the Finite Element Method. By means of the derived numerical framework a detailed investigation of the different transport phenomena is carried out. Numerical experiments are performed to characterize the dominating transfer phenomena for ionic gels under chemical stimulation.

We present a theoretical model to optimise the unidirectional motion of a rigid object bonded to a miniaturized dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA), a configuration found for example in AMI’s haptic feedback devices, or in our tuneable RF phase shifter. Recent work has shown that unidirectional motion is maximized when the membrane is both anistropically prestretched and subjected to a dead load in the direction of actuation. However, the use of dead weights for miniaturized devices is clearly highly impractical. Consequently smaller devices use the membrane itself to generate the opposing force. Since the membrane covers the entire frame, one has the same prestretch condition in the active (actuated) and passive zones. Because the passive zone contracts when the active zone expands, it does not provide a constant restoring force, reducing the maximum achievable actuation strain. We have determined the optimal ratio between the size of the electrode (active zone) and the passive zone, as well as the optimal prestretch in both in-plane directions, in order to maximize the absolute displacement of the rigid object placed at the active/passive border. Our model and experiments show that the ideal active ratio is 50%, with a displacement twice smaller than what can be obtained with a dead load. We expand our fabrication process to also show how DEAs can be laser-post-processed to remove carefully chosen regions of the passive elastomer membrane, thereby increasing the actuation strain of the device.

Commonly, modeling of the bending behavior of the ionic electroactive polymer (IEAP) actuators is based on the classical mechanics of cantilever beam. It is acknowledged, that the actuation of the ionic electroactive polymer (IEAP) actuators is symmetric about the centroid - the convex side of the actuator is expanding and the concave side is contracting for exactly the same amount, while the thickness of the actuator remains invariant. Actuating the IEAP actuators and sensors under scanning electron microscope (SEM), in situ, reveals that for some types of them this approach is incorrect. Comparison of the SEM micrographs using the Digital Image Correction (DIC) method results with the precise strain distribution of the IEAP actuators in two directions: in the axial direction, and in the direction of thickness. This information, in turn, points to the physical processes taking place within the electrodes as well as membrane of the trilayer laminate of sub-millimeter thickness. Comparison of the EAP materials, engaged as an actuator as well as a sensor, reveals considerable differences between the micro-mechanics of the two modes.

Dielectric elastomers (DE) are thin polymer films belonging to the class of electroactive polymers (EAP). They are coated with compliant and conductive electrodes on each side, which make them performing a relative high amount of deformation with considerable force generation under the influence of an electric field. Because the realization of high electric fields with a limited voltage level requests single layer polymer films to be very thin, novel multilayer actuators are utilized to increase the absolute displacement and force. In case of a multilayer stack-actuator, many actuator films are mechanically stacked in series and electrically connected in parallel. Because there are different ways to design such a stack-actuator, this contribution considers an optimization of some design parameters using the finite element analysis (FEA), whereby the behavior and the actuation of a multilayer dielectric electroactive polymer (DEAP) stack-actuator can be improved. To describe the material behavior, first different material models are compared and necessary material parameters are identified by experiments. Furthermore, a FEA model of a DEAP film is presented, which is expanded to a multilayer DEAP stack-actuator model. Finally, the results of the FEA are discussed and conclusions for design rules of optimized stack-actuators are outlined.

There are a number of actuators using the deformation of electroactive polymer (EAP), where fewer papers seem to have focused on the performance of 3D morphing actuators based on the analytical approach, due mainly to their complexity. The present paper introduces a numerical analysis approach on the large scale deformation and motion of a 3D half dome shaped actuator composed of thin soft membrane (passive material) and EAP strip actuators (EAP active coupon with electrodes on both surfaces), where the locations of the active EAP strips is a key parameter. Simulia/Abaqus Static and Implicit analysis code, whose main feature is the high precision contact analysis capability among structures, are used focusing on the whole process of the membrane to touch and wrap around the object. The unidirectional properties of the EAP coupon actuator are used as input data set for the material properties for the simulation and the verification of our numerical model, where the verification is made as compared to the existing 2D solution. The numerical results can demonstrate the whole deformation process of the membrane to wrap around not only smooth shaped objects like a sphere or an egg, but also irregularly shaped objects. A parametric study reveals the proper placement of the EAP coupon actuators, with the modification of the dome shape to induce the relevant large scale deformation. The numerical simulation for the 3D soft actuators shown in this paper could be applied to a wider range of soft 3D morphing actuators.

Inchworm based on the voltage actuation of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are amongst the simplest types of robots. We demonstrate a proof-of-concept inchworm robot that incorporates a few aligned fibers to suppress undesirable actuator bulging and more effectively convert the bending of a dielectric elastomer unimorph to forward motion. Finite element modeling confirms the role of the fibers in suppressing bulging but also shows that a threshold actuation voltage is required to convert the unimorph bending to forward motion of the inchworm. Based on the modeling results for unimorphs having different fiber spacing a simple inchworm is constructed and locomotion is demonstrated for actuation above the threshold voltage. Although not optimized, the inchworm illustrates the importance of using selectively positioned stiffening fibers as well as elastomers having lower viscoelastic losses.

Today most of applications have a small camera such as cell phones, tablets and medical devices. A micro lens is required in order to reduce the size of the devices. In this paper an auto focus system is used in order to find the best position of a liquid lens without any active components such as ultrasonic or infrared. In fact a passive auto focus system by using standard deviation of the images on a liquid lens which consist of a Dielectric Elastomer Actuator (DEA) membrane between oil and water is proposed.

Within the areas of cell biology, biomedicine and minimal invasive surgery, there is a need for soft, flexible and dextrous biocompatible manipulators for handling biological objects, such as single cells and tissues. Present day technologies are based on simple suction using micropipettes for grasping objects. The micropipettes lack the possibility of accurate force control, nor are they soft and compliant and may thus cause damage to the cells or tissue. Other micromanipulators use conventional electric motors however the further miniaturization of electrical motors and their associated gear boxes and/or push/pull wires has reached its limits. Therefore there is an urgent need for new technologies for micromanipulation of soft biological matter.

We are developing soft, flexible micromanipulators such as micro- tweezers for the handling and manipulation of biological species including cells and surgical tools for minimal invasive surgery. Our aim is to produce tools with minimal dimensions of 100 μm to 1 mm in size, which is 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller than existing technology. We present newly developed patterning and microfabrication methods for polymer microactuators as well as the latest results to integrate these microactuators into easy to use manipulation tools. The outcomes of this study contribute to the realisation of low-foot print devices articulated with electroactive polymer actuators for which the physical interface with the power source has been a significant challenge limiting their application. Here, we present a new bottom-up microfabrication process. We show for the first time that such a bottom-up fabricated actuator performs a movement in air. This is a significant step towards widening the application areas of the soft microactuators.

We introduce a soft actuator for grippers using DEA capable of bending actuation. The actuator is also able to generate the electro-adhesion by the fringe field formed at the edges of the electrodes. The adhesion improves the holding force and ensures the conformation of the structure to the object. After the characterization of the actuator, we develop a 2-finger soft gripper capable of holding various objects. The gripper has a mass of around 1 g, and consists of a few cm long actuation parts, realizing simple open-close movement. The compliance of the gripper leads to conformation of the structure against the object surface, which is proven by successful handling of objects with different geometries such as a toothbrush, a flat paper, and a ping pong ball. The effect of the electro-adhesion is visible when the paper is held with its flat shape meaning that an adhesion force against gravity exists. Also, by the fact that the conformed structure increases the contact area, the holding force is improved while avoiding damaging the object, which is highlighted by the ability to hold a raw egg weighing around 60 g. This soft gripper, combining both actuation and electro-adhesion, illustrates the potential use of DEA for soft robotics.

By-pass surgery and heart transplantation are traditionally used to restore the heart’s functionality after a myocardial Infarction (MI or heart attack) that results in scar tissue formation and impaired cardiac function. However, both procedures are associated with serious post-surgical complications. Therefore, new strategies to help re-establish heart functionality are necessary.

Tissue engineering and stem cell therapy are the promising approaches that are being explored for the treatment of MI. The stem cell niche is extremely important for the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells and tissue regeneration. For the introduction of stem cells into the host tissue an artificial carrier such as a scaffold is preferred as direct injection of stem cells has resulted in fast stem cell death. Such scaffold will provide the proper microenvironment that can be altered electronically to provide temporal stimulation to the cells.

We have developed an electroactive polymer (EAP) scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering. The EAP scaffold mimics the extracellular matrix and provides a 3D microenvironment that can be easily tuned during fabrication, such as controllable fibre dimensions, alignment, and coating. In addition, the scaffold can provide electrical and electromechanical stimulation to the stem cells which are important external stimuli to stem cell differentiation. We tested the initial biocompatibility of these scaffolds using cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs), and continued onto more sensitive induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). We present the fabrication and characterisation of these electroactive fibres as well as the response of increasingly sensitive cell types to the scaffolds.

The natural limbs of animals and insects integrate muscles, skins and neurons, providing both the actuating and sensing functions simultaneously. Inspired by the natural structure, we present a novel structure with integrated function of actuating and sensing with dielectric elastomer (DE) laminates. The structure can deform when subjected to high voltage loading and generate corresponding output signal in return. We investigate the basic physical phenomenon of dielectric elastomer experimentally. It is noted that when applying high voltage, the actuating dielectric elastomer membrane deforms and the sensing dielectric elastomer membrane changes the capacitance in return. Based on the concept, finite element method (FEM) simulation has been conducted to further investigate the electromechanical behavior of the structure.

Components in automotive and aerospace applications require a wide temperature range of operation. Newly discovered thermally active Baughman muscle potentially provides affordable and viable solutions for driving mechanical devices by heating them from room temperature, but little is known about their operation below room temperature. We study the mechanical behavior of nylon coil actuators by testing elastic modulus and by investigating tensile stroke as a function of temperature. Loads that range from 35 MPa to 155 MPa were applied. For the nylon used and the coiling conditions, active thermal contraction totals 19.5 % when the temperature is raised from -40 °C to 160 °C. The thermal contraction observed from -40 °C to 20°C is only ~2 %, whereas between 100 and 160 °C the contraction is 10 %. A marked increase in thermal contraction is occurs in the vicinity of the glass transition temperature (~ 45°C). The elastic modulus drops as temperature increases, from ~155 MPa at – 40 °C to 35 MPa at 200 °C. Interestingly the drop in active contraction with increasing load is small and much less than might be expected given the temperature dependence of modulus.

In muscle variable impedance and ability to recruit fibers as needed helps enable actions such as walking and catching. A new biomimetic structure of nylon actuator is presented that imitates the human pennate muscle in structure, ability to vary stiffness and the ability to increase force by recruiting additional fibers. The actuator consists of 16 silver coated nylon coiled fibers attached to a central tendon at an angle of 20°. Each nylon coil produces 20 MPa of stress at constant length and nearly 20% strain at fixed load. Fibers are individually switched ON and OFF using transistors so that each element can be recruited, and the stiffness varied. The amount of input power is controlled with pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques. It is observed that the spring constant of the pennate structure varies from that of its passive state, 503 N/m and a resonance frequency of 1.4 Hz, to 1480 N/m with resonance frequency of 3.1 Hz in the active state where all the fibers are switched on under a 25 N load. Stiffness can be varied by a factor of 9.

Dielectric elastomer actuators have many advantages, including light weight, simplicity, high energy density, and silent operation. These features make them suitable to replace conventional actuators and transducers, especially in artificial muscle applications where large contractile strains are necessary for lifelike motions. This paper will introduce the concept of a corrugated dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA), which consists of dielectric elastomer (DE) laminated to a thin elastic layer to induce bending motion at each of the corrugations, resulting in large axial deformation. The location of the DE and elastic layers can be configured to provide tensile or compressive axial strain. Such corrugated DE actuators are also highly scalable: linking multiple actuators in series results in greater deformation, whereas multiple actuators in parallel results in larger force output. Analytical closed-form solutions based on linear elasticity were derived for the displacement and force output of curved unimorph and corrugated DEA, both consisting of an arbitrary number of lamina. A total strain energy analysis and Castigiliano’s theorem were used to predict the nonlinear force-displacement behavior of the corrugated actuator. Curved unimorph and corrugated DEA were fabricated using VHB F9469PC as the DE material. Displacement of the actuators observed during testing agreed well with the modeling results. Large contractile strain (25.5%) was achieved by the corrugated DEA. Future work includes investigating higher performance DE materials such as plasticized PVDF terpolymers, processed by thin film deposition methods.

Inspired from the natural invertebrates like worms and starfish, we propose a novel elastomeric smart structure. The smart structure can function as a soft robot. The soft robot is made from a flexible elastomer as the body and driven by dielectric elastomer as the muscle. Finite element simulations based on nonlinear field theory are conducted to investigate the working condition of the structure, and guide the design of the smart structure. The effects of the prestretch, structural stiffness and voltage on the performance of the smart structure are investigated. This work can guide the design of soft robot.

Soft robotics is a promising field and its application to space mechanisms could represent a breakthrough in space technologies by enabling new operative scenarios (e.g. soft manipulators, capture systems). Dielectric Elastomers Actuators have been under deep study for a number of years and have shown several advantages that could be of key importance for space applications. Among such advantages the most notable are high conversion efficiency, distributed actuation, self-sensing capability, multi-degree-of-freedom design, light weight and low cost. The big potentialities of double cone actuators have been proven in terms of good performances (i.e. stroke and force/torque), ease of manufacturing and durability. In this work the kinematic, dynamic and control design of a two-joint redundant robotic arm is presented. Two double cone actuators are assembled in series to form a two-link design. Each joint has two degrees of freedom (one rotational and one translational) for a total of four. The arm is designed to move in a 2-D environment (i.e. the horizontal plane) with 4 DoF, consequently having two degrees of redundancy. The redundancy is exploited in order to minimize the joint loads. The kinematic design with redundant Jacobian inversion is presented. The selected control algorithm is described along with the results of a number of dynamic simulations that have been executed for performance verification. Finally, an experimental setup is presented based on a flexible structure that counteracts gravity during testing in order to better emulate future zero-gravity applications.

In this paper, a novel artificial muscle/tendon structure is developed for achieving bio-inspired actuation and self-sensing. The hybrid structure consists of a dielectric elastomer (DE) material connected with carbon fibers, which incorporates the built-in sensing and actuation capability of DE and mechanical, electrical interfacing capability of carbon fibers. DEs are light weight artificial muscles that can generate compliant actuation with low power consumption. Carbon fibers act as artificial tendon due to their high electro-conductivity and mechanical strength. PDMS material is used to electrically and mechanically connect the carbon fibers with the DE material. A strip actuator was fabricated to verify the structure design and characterize its actuation and sensing capabilities. A 3M VHB 4905 tape was used as the DE material. To make compliant electrodes on the VHB tape, carbon black was sprayed on the surface of VHB tape. To join the carbon fibers to the VHB tape, PDMS was used as bonding material. Experiments have been conducted to characterize the actuation and sensing capabilities. The actuation tests have shown that the energy efficiency of artificial muscle can reach up to 0.7% and the strain can reach up to 1%. The sensing tests have verified that the structure is capable of self-sensing through the electrical impedance measurement.

We present a new sensing method that can measure the strain at different locations in a dielectric elastomer. The method uses multiple sensing frequencies to target different regions of the same dielectric elastomer to simultaneously detect position and pressure using only a single pair of connections. The dielectric elastomer is modelled as an RC transmission line and its internal voltage and current distribution used to determine localised capacitance changes resulting from contact and pressure. This sensing method greatly simplifies high degree of freedom systems and does not require any modifications to the dielectric elastomer or sensing hardware. It is demonstrated on a multi-touch musical keyboard made from a single low cost carbon-based dielectric elastomer with 4 distinct musical tones mapped along a length of 0.1m. Loudness was controlled by the amount of pressure applied to each of these 4 positions.

A polyurethane hydrogel based touch sensor with high transparency and conformability is demonstrated. Polyurethane hydrogels swollen with various electrolytes were compressed at a pressure of 30 kPa, simulating a fingertap on a conventional touch screen device. Unlike ionic polymer metal composite and conducting polymer trilayer sensors, where electrodes render the sensors opaque and relatively rigid, the electrodes used in this work are metal wires or strips, separated from each other by regions of transparent film, enabling transparency and compliance. The voltages and currents observed when the perturbation is above one electrode are on the order of 10^-2 V and 10^-7 A, relative to a second electrode that is approximately 1 cm away. The sign of voltage and current signals detected from perturbations made between electrodes is determined by relative proximity to each electrode, and the magnitude appears to decrease with increasing distance from the electrodes. These observations suggest that it may be possible to discriminate the location of touch based on signals transmitted to the edges of an ionically conductive film. A model to describe the inhomogeneous ionic distribution and predict the resultant voltage and current is presented to qualitatively explain the sensing, based on the Donnan potential.

Follicular structures in skin combine sensing and actuation in a soft and compliant continuous surface. We have developed a tactile display device inspired by this structure, using a Dielectric Elastomer Actuator (DEA). DEAs allow for combined sensing and actuation, making possible two-way tactile communication between the user and the device. The device can obtain tactile information about the environment, or a user touching it, and it can also present tactile information to the user. We characterise the sensing properties of the tactile display device, and perform classification of tactile stimuli. We demonstrate two-way tactile interaction between a user and the device.

New designs of dielectric elastomer sensors (DES) which are capable to detect compression loads on rigid as well as on compliant surfaces are introduced in this paper. Currently, DES films exhibit only very poor sensitivity in terms of the change of electric capacitance upon increasing loads for compression measurements. In the new sensor mats, the compression load is converted to a tensile load which acts on an elastomer film located between two profiled elastomer components. In addition, the deformation of the elastomer profiles can also contribute to the sensor effect. All elastomer components were prepared of silicone. A number of parameters which have an influence on the characteristic dependence of capacitance on compression load are discussed. A main influence results from the shape of the elastomer profiles which stretch the elastomer film inside. Also very important are the number and the locations of electrode layers in the sensor mat between which the capacitance is measured. Finally, the hardness of the elastomer plays also a decisive role for the sensor sensitivity. This broad variability of the sensor design offers a high potential to tune the sensor characteristics. Various examples of compression sensors are described and the impact of structural and material parameters is discussed.

Shape Memory Gel (SMG) is one of the most interesting unique soft and wet materials. The elastic modulus of the SMG is changed by the kinds of solvent ( S-switch SMG). Here we have an idea that these properties are possibly applied to develop a novel gel-switch chemical semiconductor, named “Gel-con(ductor)”. The Gel-con will be made from the combination of the different kinds of the S-switch gel membranes and is used to rectify the flux of the solvent in chemical circuits, where the solvent molecules behave as electron and hole.

A dielectric elastomer actuator is one class of soft actuators which can deform in response to voltage. Dielectric elastomer actuators coupled with liquid have recently been developed as soft pumps, soft lenses, Braille displays, etc. In this paper, we conduct experiments to investigate the performance of a dielectric elastomer actuator which is coupled with water. The membrane is subject to a constant water pressure, which is found to significantly affect the electromechanical behaviour of the membrane. When the pressure is small, the membrane suffers electrical breakdown before snap-through instability, and achieves a small voltage-induced deformation. When the pressure is higher to make the membrane near the verge of the instability, the membrane can achieve a giant voltage-induced deformation, with an area strain of 1165%. When the pressure is large, the membrane suffers pressure-induced snap-through instability and may collapse due to a large amount of liquid enclosed by the membrane. Theoretical analyses are conducted to interpret these experimental observations.

Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC) actuator for flapping insect scale wing is advantageous due to its low mass, high deflection and simple actuation mechanism. Some of the factors that affect the actuation of IPMC are the amount of hydration in the polymer membrane and the environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity etc. In structural design, the attachment of wing on the IPMC actuators is an important concern as the attached wing increases the mass of actuators thereby affecting the parameters like displacement, stiffness and resonant frequencies. Such IPMC actuators have to produce sufficient actuation force and frequency to lift and flap the attached wing. Therefore, it is relevant to study the influence of attachment of wing on the actuator parameters (displacement, resonant frequency, block force and stiffness) and performance of the actuators. This paper is divided into two parts; the first part deals with the modeling of the IPMC actuators for its effect on the level of water uptake and temperature using energy based method. The modeling method adapted is validated with the experimental procedure used to actuate the IPMC. The second part deals with the experimental analysis of IPMC actuation at dry, wet and in water conditions. The effect of end mass loading on the performance of 20 Hz, high frequency actuator (HFA) and 8.7 Hz, low frequency IPMC actuators (LFA) and sensors is studied. The IPMC actuators are attached with IPMC flapping wing at its free end and performance analysis on the attached wing is also carried out.

Many efforts have been devoted to modeling the diffusive impedance of conjugated polymer (CP) based actuators using their equivalent electrical circuits. Employing the same methodology, CP based mechanical sensors can also be treated by an equivalent transmission line circuit and their overall impedance can be modeled, correspondingly. Due to the large number of resources to study the electrical circuits, this technique is a practical tool. Therefore, in this study, an equivalent RC-circuit model including electrochemical parameters is determined to obtain a better perception of the sensing mechanism of these mechanical sensors. Conjugated polymers are capable of generating an output current or voltage upon an induced mechanical deformation or force. This observed behavior in polymer based mechanical sensors is considered as the reverse actuation process. Many outstanding properties of the conjugated polymer actuators including their light weight and biocompatibility are still retained by these sensors. Sensors with a trilayer configuration are capable of operating in air in response to a mechanically induced bending deformation. However, due to their nonlinear behavior and multivariable characteristics, it is required to propose a systematic approach in order to optimize their performance and gain the optimal values of their constituent decision variable. Therefore, the proposed mathematical model is used to define the output voltage of the PPy based mechanical sensor along with the sensitivity of the model to the applied frequency of the induced deformation. Applying a multiobjective optimization algorithm, the optimization problem was solved and the tracking ability of the proposed model was then verified.

We present recent results on a binary threshold sensor based on the binary zero-power sensor (BIZEPS) platform which is able to use the energy provided directly from the measured relative humidity of the ambient air to mechanically switch an electrical micro contact. This zero-power switch behavior is realized by using the humidity-sensitive volume swelling of a polymer layer as the detection element deflecting a mechanically deformable silicon boss structure, thus closing the electrical contacts of the switch. For the humidity-sensitive sensor switch considered here, a humidity-sensitive hydrogel blend of poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(acryl acid) was used. The sensitive part affected by the measurand is completely separated from the electrical part, thus providing long-term stability. By using an inverse silicone stamping technique the polymer layer with a thickness of about 15 μm was patterned on test structures possessing a thin silicon flexure plate of 5 mm x 5 mm in size and 20 μm in thickness. Reproducible deformations of up to 15 … 24 μm has been measured. Investigations of the swelling kinetics showed for several discrete relative humidity values a saturation of the water load. The time to reach this saturation state is reduced from 5 hours down to approx. 20 min by increasing the relative humidity beyond the threshold value of 70% r.H. A significant influence of the temperature to the humidity load could not be observed.

In this study, we theoretically predict and experimentally investigate the electro-mechanical response of the IPMC actuator. A physical model of IPMC actuator is proposed. The model combines the effect of surface resistance change during the deformation and the physics of the polymer membrane. IPMC samples were prepared and experiments were performed to test the samples. The results show that the theoretical model can accurately predict the actuating performance of IPMC. Current study may be beneficial for the comprehensive understanding of the surface electrode effect on the IPMC actuator.

Multilayer dielectric elastomer stack transducers (DESTs) are a promising new transducer technology with many applications in different industry sectors, like medical devices, human-machine-interaction, etc. Stacked dielectric elastomer transducers show larger thickness contraction driven by lower voltages than transducers made from a single dielectric layer. Traditionally multilayered DESTs are produced by repeatedly cross-linking a liquid elastomeric pre-polymer into the required shape. Our recent research focusses on a novel fabrication method for large scale stack transducers with a surface area over 200 x 300 mm by processing pre-fabricated elastomeric thin films of less than 50 μm thicknesses. The thin films are provided as two- or three-layer composites, where the elastomer is sandwiched between one or two sacrificial liners. Separating the elastomeric film from the residual layers and assembling them into dielectric elastomer stack transducers poses many challenges concerning adhesion, since the dielectric film merely separates from the liner if the adhesive forces between them are overcome. Conversely, during the assembly of a dielectric elastomer stack transducer, adhesive forces have to be established between two elastomeric layers or between the dielectric and the electrode layer. The very low Young's modulus of at least one adhesion partner requires suitable means of increasing the adhesive forces between the different adhesive layers of a dielectric elastomer stack transducer to prevent a delamination of the transducer during its lifetime. This work evaluates different surface activation treatments - corona, low-pressure plasma and UV-light - and their applicability in the production of large scale DESTs made from pre-fabricated elastomeric films.

This study demonstrates an easy way to change surface characteristics, the water contact angle on styrene based shape memory polymer (SMP) surface alters before and after cracking formation and recovery. The contact angle of water on the original SMP surface is about 85 degree, after coating with Al and then kneading from side face at glass transition temperature T_g, cracking appeared both on Al film and SMP; cooling down and removing the Al film, cracks remain on SMP surface while the contact angle reduced to about 25 degree. When reheated above T_g, the cracks disappeared, and the contact angle go back to about 85 degree. The thin Al film bonded on SMP surface was coated by spurting, that constrains the deformation of SMP. Heating above T_g, there are complex interactions between soft SMP and hard metal film under kneading. The thin metal film cracked first with the considerable deformation of soft polymer, whereafter, the polymer was ripped by the metal cracks thus polymer cracked as well. Cracks on SMP can be fixed cooling down T_g, while reheated, cracks shrinking and the SMP recovers to its original smooth surface. Surface topography changed dramatically while chemical composition showed no change during the deformation and recovery cycle, as presented by SEM and EDS. Furthermore, the wetting cycle is repeatable. This facile method can be easily extended to the hydropobicity/hydrophilicity modification of other stimuli-responsive polymers and put forward many potential applications, such as microfluidic switching and molecule capture and release.

This paper presents a stretchable proximity-tactile sensor (PTS) using Carbon Micro Coils (CMC). The PTS consists of pairs of multiple active electrodes and a common ground electrode on the same plane. Thus, the sensor is tolerable to the repetitive contacts from external forces. The top layer consists of dielectric elastomer substrate mixed with 5% of CMC, so that it can respond to the proximity and tactile stimuli. Electrodes are located under the top layer and optimally organized to reduce the number of wirings. The sensor is fabricated by molding and casting methods. As the result, a 4 × 4 sensor prototype is made and its performance are experimentally evaluated.

A new type of poleable dielectric elastomer is introduced herein. The elastomer contains polymer nanoparticles with frozen molecular dipoles, which can be oriented at elevated temperatures in an electric field via poling. The aim is to provide a soft material with high, tunable optical properties suitable for actuator and flexible electronics applications. To that end poleable polymeric nanoparticles with high dipole concentrations and glass transition temperatures well above room temperature will be needed to be used as filler in an elastomer matrix. The synthesis and characterization of such particles is presented in this manuscript. Polyhydroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA) nanoparticles were synthesized using miniemulsion polymerization. The particles were loaded with 4-[ethyl (2-hydroxyethyl) amino]-4-nitrobenzene, usually called Disperse Red 1 (DR1), which has a large dipole moment (μ = 7.5 – 9.5 D). The maximum dipole loadings is limited by the solubility of the dipole in the monomer solutions prior to polymerization. All samples show a glass transition temperature around 95 °C. Secondary electron microscopy (SEM) revealed spherical particles, the size of which was confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. A composite was prepared by dispersing the particles in polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS).

Melanin is an electrically conductive and biocompatible material, because their conjugated backbone structures provide conducting pathways from human skin, eyes, brain, and beyond. So there is a potential of using as materials for the neural interfaces and the implantable devices. Extracted from Sepia officinalis ink, our natural melanin was uniformly dispersed in mostly polar solvents such as water and alcohols. Then, the dispersed melanin was further fabricated to nano-thin layered composites by the layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly technique. Combined with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), the melanin nanoparticles behave as an LBL counterpart to from finely tuned nanostructured films. The LBL process can adjust the smart performances of the composites by varying the layering conditions and sandwich thickness. We further demonstrated the melanin loading degree of stacked layers, combination nanostructures, electrical properties, and biocompatibility of the resulting composites by UV-vis spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscope (SEM), multimeter, and in-vitro cell test of PC12, respectively.

With rapid progress of biomedical devices towards miniaturization, flexibility, multifunction and low cost, the restrictions of traditional mechanical structures become particularly apparent, while soft materials become research focus in broad fields. As one of the most attractive soft materials, Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite (IPMC) is widely used as artificial muscles and actuators, with the advantages of low driving-voltage, high efficiency of electromechanical transduction and functional stabilization. In this paper, a new intuitive control method was presented to achieve the omnidirectional bending movements and was applied on a representative actuation structure of a multi-degree-offreedom soft actuator composed of two segments bar-shaped IPMC with a square cross section. Firstly, the bar-shaped IPMCs were fabricated by the solution casting method, reducing plating, autocatalytic plating method and cut into shapes successively. The connectors of the multi-segment IPMC actuator were fabricated by 3D printing. Then, a new control method was introduced to realize the intuitive mapping relationship between the actuator and the joystick manipulator. The control circuit was designed and tested. Finally, the multi-degree-of-freedom actuator of 2 segments bar-shaped IPMCs was implemented and omnidirectional bending movements were achieved, which could be a promising actuator for biomedical applications, such as endoscope, catheterism, laparoscopy and the surgical resection of tumors.

Past few decades were concentrated on researches related to effective energy harvesting applied in modern technologies, MEMS or MOEMS systems. There are many methods for harvesting energy as, for example, usage of electromagnetic devices, but most dramatic changes were noticed in the usage of piezoelectric materials in small scale devices. Major limitation faced was too small generated power by piezoelectric materials or high resonant frequencies of such smallscale harvesters. In this research, novel composite piezoelectric material was created by mixing PZT powder with 20% solution of polyvinyl butyral in benzyl alcohol. Obtained paste was screen printed on copper foil using 325 mesh stainless steel screen and dried for 30 min at 100 °C. Polyvinyl butyral ensures good adhesion and flexibility of a new material at the conditions that requires strong binding. Five types of a composite piezoelectric material with different concentrations of PZT (40%, 50%, 60%, 70% and 80 %) were produced. As the results showed, these harvesters were able to transform mechanical strain energy into electric potential and, v.v. In experimental setup, electromagnetic shaker was used to excite energy harvester that is fixed in the custom-built clamp, while generated electric potential were registered with USB oscilloscope PICO 3424. The designed devices generate up to 80 μV at 50 Hz excitation. This property can be applied to power microsystem devices or to use them in portable electronics and wireless sensors. However, the main advantage of the created composite piezoelectric material is possibility to apply it on any uniform or nonuniform vibrating surface and to transform low frequency vibrations into electricity.

Dielectric elastomers (DEs) have significant applications in artificial muscle and other biomedical equipment and device fabrications. Metallic thin films by thin film transfer and sputter coating techniques can provide conductive surfaces on the DE samples, and can be used as electrodes for the actuators and other biomedical sensing devices. In the present study, 3M VHB 4910 tape was used as a DE for the coating and electrical characterization tests. A 150 nm thickness of gold was coated on the DE surfaces by sputter coating under vacuum with different pre-strains, ranging from 0 to 100%. Some of the thin films were transferred to the surface of the DEs. Sputter coating, and direct transferring gold leaf coating methods were studied and the results were analyzed in detail in terms of the strain rates and electrical resistivity changes. Initial studies indicated that the metallic surfaces remain conductive even though the DE films were considerably elongated. The coated DEs can be used as artificial muscle by applying electrical stimulation through the conductive surfaces. This study may provide great benefits to the readers, researchers, as well as companies involved in manufacturing of artificial muscles and actuators using smart materials.

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was dissolved in dimethylformamide (DMF), and then electrospun to generate nanofibers using various electrospinning conditions, such as pump speeds, DC voltages and tip-to-collector distances. The produced nanofibers were oxidized at 270 °C for 1 hr, and then carbonized at 850 °C in an argon gas for additional 1 hr. The resultant carbonized PAN nanofibers were placed on top of the pre-preg carbon fiber composites as top layers prior to the vacuum oven curing following the pre-preg composite curing procedures. The major purpose of this study is to determine if the carbonized nanofibers on the fiber reinforced composites can detect the structural defects on the composite, which may be useful for the structural health monitoring (SHM) of the composites. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the electrospun PAN fibers were well integrated on the pre-preg composites. Electrical conductivity studies under various tensile loads revealed that nanoscale carbon fibers on the fiber reinforced composites detected small changes of loads by changing the resistance values. Electrically conductive composite manufacturing can have huge benefits over the conventional composites primarily used for the military and civilian aircraft and wind turbine blades.