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How inhomogeneous zipping increases the force output of Peano-HASEL actuators

Submitted by Philipp Rothemund on

Please take a look at our newest paper in Extreme Mechanics letters. In this paper we investigate why Peano-HASEL (Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing Electostatic) actuators zip inhomogeneously at large loads. We develop a theoretical model to explain the phenomenon and validate it experimentally. We show that inhomogeneous zipping increases the blocking force of Peano-HASEL actuators by ~50% compared to homgenous zipping. Even though our analysis is limited to Peano-HASEL actuators, the physical principle is valid for other geometries of HASEL acutators, too.