A complete thermo–electro–viscoelastic characterization of dielectric elastomers, Part I: Experimental investigations

Mehnert, M., Hossain, M. and Steinmann, P. (2021) A complete thermo–electro–viscoelastic characterization of dielectric elastomers, Part I: Experimental investigations. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 157, 104603. (doi: 10.1016/j.jmps.2021.104603)

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Abstract

Dielectric elastomers are a class of solid polymeric materials that are sufficiently soft to deform under the application of an electric field due to the interaction of quasi-static electric charges. Their potential to undergo large deformations renders them promising candidates for the design of energy harvesters, sensors and soft actuators. For their application however, the influence of additional thermal effects should be taken into account as the base materials frequently show a distinct thermal sensitivity that drastically influences their mechanical response. This contribution presents the results of a wide range of experiments conducted on the popular dielectric elastomer VHB 4905™ under a combination of mechanical, thermal and electric loading scenarios. These experiments are performed in such a way that the obtained results are well suited for the identification of the necessary material parameters appearing in a thermo–electro–viscoelastic constitutive model that will subsequently be presented in the second part of the contribution.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:M. Mehnert acknowledges the funding within the DFG project No. STE 544/52-2 and GRK2495/C. M. Hossain would like to extend his sincere appreciation to Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for an Impact Acceleration Award (EP/R511614/1).
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Steinmann, Professor Paul
Authors: Mehnert, M., Hossain, M., and Steinmann, P.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Infrastructure and Environment
Journal Name:Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:0022-5096
ISSN (Online):1873-4782
Published Online:04 September 2021
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2021 The Authors
First Published:First published in Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 157: 104603
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence

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