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Electroactive soft elastomers require huge electric field for a meaningful actuation. We demonstrate that this can be dramatically reduced and giant deformations can be produced by application of suitably chosen heterogeneous actuators. The…
Recent experiments have exploited elastic instabilities in membranes to create complex patterns. However, the rational design of such structures poses many challenges, as they are products of nonlinear elastic behavior. We pose a simple…
We present a new finite deformation, dynamic finite element model that incorporates surface tension to capture elastocapillary effects on the electromechanical deformation of dielectric elastomers. We demonstrate the significant effect that…
The behavior of a non-conductive quasi-planar lipid membrane in an electrolyte and in a static (DC) electric field is investigated theoretically in the nonlinear (Poisson-Boltzmann) regime. Electrostatic effects due to charges in the…
A rectangular plate of dielectric elastomer exhibiting gradients of material properties through its thickness will deform inhomogeneously when a potential difference is applied to compliant electrodes on its major surfaces, because each…
Motivated by the need for new materials and green energy production and conversion processes, a class of mathematical models for liquid crystal elastomers integrated within a theoretical charge pump electrical circuit is considered. The…
We consider a thin soft adhesive interphase between dissimilar elastic media. The material of the intermediate layer is modelled by elasto-plastic pressure-sensitive constitutive law. An asymptotic procedure, together with a novel…
We analyse here the problem of large deformation of dielectric elastomeric membranes under coupled electromechanical loading. Extremely large deformations (enclosed volume changes of 100 times and greater) of a toroidal membrane are studied…
This paper presents an in-depth examination of the nonlinear deformation induced by dielectric actuation in pre-stressed ideal dielectric elastomers. A nonlinear ordinary differential equation that governs this deformation is formulated…
A dielectric elastomer whose edges are held fixed will buckle, given sufficient applied voltage, resulting in a nontrivial out-of-plane deformation. We study this situation numerically using a nonlinear elastic model which decouples two of…
An idealized electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical system (MEMS) involving an elastic plate with a heterogeneous dielectric material is considered. Starting from the electrostatic and mechanical energies, the governing evolution…
Among smart materials, piezoelectric materials occupy a very prominent position for sensing and actuation functions. Combined with simple or more advanced shunts, they are also proposed in various vibration mitigation schemes. However, the…
Nematic elastomers and glasses deform spontaneously when subjected to temperature changes. This property can be exploited in the design of heterogeneously patterned thin sheets that deform into a non-trivial shape when heated or cooled. In…
This paper contains a thorough investigation of the performance of electrically activated layered soft dielectric composite actuators under plane deformation. Noting that the activation can be induced controlling either the voltage or the…
Electroactive polymers are smart materials that can be used as actuators, sensors, or energy harvesters. We focus on a pseudo trilayer based on PEDOT, a semiconductor polymer: the central part consists of two interpenetrating polymers and…
Liquid crystal elastomers are rubber-like solids with liquid crystalline mesogens (stiff, rod-like molecules) incorporated either into the main chain or as a side chain of the polymer. These solids display a range of unusual…
Nematic elastomers are programmable soft materials that display large, reversible and predictable deformation under an external stimulus such as a change in temperature or light. While much of the work in the field has focused on actuation…
Flexible mechanical metamaterials are compliant structures engineered to achieve unique properties via the large deformation of their components. While their static character has been studied extensively, the study of their dynamic…
Exceptionally large strains can be produced in soft elastomers by the application of an electric field and the strains can be exploited for a variety of novel actuators, such as tunable lenses and tactile actuators. However, shape morphing…
A predicting model for soft Dielectric Elastomer Generators (DEGs) must consider a realistic model of the electromechanical behaviour of the elastomer filling, the variable capacitor and of the electrical circuit connecting all elements of…