OPTIMIZATION DESIGN FOR A DIELECTRIC ELASTOMER MEMBRANE ACTUATOR

Due to the large voltage-induced strain along with other unique attributes, dielectric elastromers are being developed as transducers for broad applications in soft robots, adaptive structures, medical devices, energy harvesting and so on. Due to nonlinear large deformation and diverse modes of failure, it has been challenging to model dielectric transducers. This paper focuses on the optimization design of an actuator made of a layer of dielectric elastomer membrane and deformed into an out-of plane axisymmetric shape. The optimization procedure is demonstrated by examining the effect of three designing parameters, originated from the pre-stretch of the membrane, on the performance of the actuator, and by determining the region of allowable states in terms of several typical modes of failure. The equations of state are solved numerically by shooting method and the obtained numerical results indicate that the considered variables are sensitive to the designing parameters and that it is feasible to improve the performance of the actuator by choosing the designing parameters judiciously and averting the modes of failure. The approach presented here provides some guidelines in optimizing such actuators.