Far greater voltage-actuated deformation is achievable for a dielectric elastomer under equal-biaxial dead load than under rigid constraint usually employed. Areal strains of 488% are demonstrated. The dead load suppresses electric breakdown, enabling the elastomer to survive the snap-through electromechanical instability. The breakdown voltage is found to increase with the voltage ramp rate. A nonlinear model for viscoelastic dielectric elastomers is developed and shown to be consistent with the experimental observations. 

Published Online:

http://apl.aip.org/resource/1/applab/v100/i4/p041911_s1?isAuthorized=no&ver=pdfcov

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 041911 (2012)