Modelling electro-active polymers with a dispersion-type anisotropy

Hossain, M. and Steinmann, P. (2018) Modelling electro-active polymers with a dispersion-type anisotropy. Smart Materials and Structures, 27(2), 025010. (doi: 10.1088/1361-665X/aa9f88)

Abstract

We propose a novel constitutive framework for electro-active polymers (EAPs) that can take into account anisotropy with a chain dispersion. To enhance actuation behaviour, particle-filled EAPs become promising candidates nowadays. Recent studies suggest that particle-filled EAPs, which can be cured under an electric field during the manufacturing time, do not necessarily form perfect anisotropic composites, rather they create composites with dispersed chains. Hence in this contribution, an electro-mechanically coupled constitutive model is devised that considers the chain dispersion with a probability distribution function in an integral form. To obtain relevant quantities in discrete form, numerical integration over the unit sphere is utilized. Necessary constitutive equations are derived exploiting the basic laws of thermodynamics that result in a thermodynamically consistent formulation. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed electro-mechanically coupled framework, we analytically solve a non-homogeneous boundary value problem, the extension and inflation of an axisymmetric cylindrical tube under electro-mechanically coupled load. The results capture various electro-mechanical couplings with the formulation proposed for EAP composites.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The second author acknowledges the funding by the DFG Cluster of Excellence: Engineering of Advanced Materials (EAM) and project no. STE 544/52-1.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Steinmann, Professor Paul
• Authors: Hossain, M., and Steinmann, P.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Infrastructure and Environment
• Journal Name: Smart Materials and Structures
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• ISSN: 0964-1726
• ISSN (Online): 1361-665X