Architected Elastomer Networks for Optimal Electromechanical Response

Abstract

Dielectric elastomers (DEs) that couple deformation and electrostatics have the potential for use in soft sensors and actuators with applications ranging from robotic, biomedical, energy, aerospace and automotive technologies. However, currently available DEs are limited by weak electromechanical coupling and require large electric fields for significant actuation. In this work, a statistical mechanics-based model of DE chains is applied to elucidate the role of a polymer network architecture in the performance of the bulk material. Given a polymer network composed of chains that are cross-linked, the paper examines the role of cross-link density, orientational density of chains, and other network parameters in determining the material properties of interest including elastic modulus, electrical susceptibility, and the electromechanical coupling. From this analysis, a practical strategy is presented to increase the deformation and usable work derived from (anisotropic) dielectric elastomer actuators by as much as $75-100\%$.

To appear in the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids

References in corpus (4)

• Electrostatic Correlations and the Polyelectrolyte Self Energy
• Catastrophic thinning of dielectric elastomers
• Atomistic-to-Continuum Multiscale Modeling with Long-Range Electrostatic Interactions in Ionic Solids
• Statistical Mechanical Analysis of the Electromechanical Coupling in an Electrically-Responsive Polymer Chain

Cited by in corpus (13)

• Flexoelectricity in soft elastomers and the molecular mechanisms underpinning the design and emergence of giant flexoelectricity
• The interplay between symmetry-breaking and symmetry-preserving bifurcations in soft dielectric films and the emergence of giant electro-actuation
• Nonlinear Statistical Mechanics Drives Intrinsic Electrostriction and Volumetric Torque in Polymer Networks
• Statistical mechanics of a dielectric polymer chain in the force ensemble
• Polymer networks which locally rotate to accommodate stresses, torques, and deformation
• Statistical field theory for nonlinear elasticity of polymer networks with excluded volume interactions
• Statistical Field Theory of Polarizable Polymer Chains with Nonlocal Dipolar Interactions
• Discrete-to-Continuum Limits of Long-Range Electrical Interactions in Nanostructures
• Exploiting Instabilities to Enable Large Shape Transformations in Dielectric Elastomers
• Nonuniqueness in Defining the Polarization: Nonlocal Surface Charges and the Electrostatic, Energetic, and Transport Perspectives
• Soft Electromechanical Elastomers Impervious to Instability
• Nonlocal Electrostatics and Boundary Charges in Continuum Limits of Two-Dimensional Materials
• Two-Scale Analysis of the Electrostatics of Dielectric Crystals: Emergence of Polarization Density and Boundary Charges