Related papers: Enhanced electro-actuation in dielectric elastomer…
We firstly demonstrate physically-prepared compliant PVA hydrogel electrodes as a promising supplement in dielectric elastomer actuators. They are capable of conducting high voltages over 5 kV without electrolysis by an electrical double…
Polyelectrolyte gels are a very attractive class of actuation materials with remarkable electronic and mechanical properties with a great similarity to biological contractile tissues. They consist of a polymer network with ionizable groups…
The possibilities to increase the static conductivity of PVC compared to the initial antistatic level, for PVC plasticate obtained with effective plasticizer - a so called modifier of type A, and partial thermal dehydrochlorination for…
In this work the effect of an ion gel outer-layer stuck on top of ITO/PBT/Sn devices was investigated towards its effects on the electrical properties. When this external electrolyte film is in contact with any top permeable electrode it…
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…
Dielectric elastomers have recently been proposed for various biologically-relevant applications, in which they may operate in fluidic environments where surface tension effects may have a significant effect on their stability and…
Soft elastic composite materials can serve as actuators when they transform changes in external fields into mechanical deformation. Here, we address the corresponding deformational behavior of magnetic gels and elastomers, consisting of…
Physically assembled gels have promising applications in many fields because of their tunable mechanical properties. Here, we report the mechanical properties as a function of polymer volume fraction ($\phi$) for a physical gel system…
The recent discovery of electro-active polymers has shown great promises in the field of soft robotics, and was logically followed by experimental, numerical and theoretical developments. Most of these studies were concerned with systems…
Active gels play an important role in biology and in inspiring biomimetic active materials, due to their ability to change shape, size and create their own morphology; the relevant mechanics behind these changes is driven by…
A desktop experiment has been done to show the nonlinearity in the I-V characteristics of an ion conducting electrochemical micro-system. Its chaotic dynamics is being reported for the first time which has been captured by an electronic…
Nonlinear elastic responses of short and stiff polyelectrolytes are investigated by dynamic simulations on a single molecule level. When a polyelectrolyte condensate undergoes a mechanical unfolding, two types of force-extension curves,…
Dielectric elastomers are an emerging class of highly deformable electro-active materials employed for electromechanical transduction technology. For practical applications, the design of such transducers requires a model accounting for…
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…
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…
We model the behaviour of a single colloid embedded in a cross-linked polymer gel, immersed in a viscous background fluid. External fields actuate the particle into a periodic motion, which deforms the embedding matrix and creates a local…
The inter-connection between the elasticity of a dielectric film and the wetting of a sessile drop on the same, under an applied electrical voltage, remains unaddressed. Here, we report the electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) behaviour of…
This paper presents a new technique to study the adsorption and desorption of ions and electrons on insulating surfaces in the presence of strong electric fields in cryoliquids. The experimental design consists of a compact cryostat coupled…
As an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, amorphous silicon offers a significantly higher energy density than the graphite anodes currently used. Alloying reactions of lithium and silicon, however, induce large deformation and lead to…
The thermal degradation of unplasticized poly(vinyl chloride), PVC, was comprehensively investigated through the application of spectroscopic techniques, as well as contact angle measurements (CA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and…