Continuum Modeling and Finite Element Simulation of Incompressible Dielectric Viscoelastic Actuators at Finite Strains
Dielectric elastomers, known for their ability to undergo large deformations exceeding 100%, are widely used as actuators in adaptive structures and soft robotics. Within the current contribution, we present a continuum material model that captures the incompressibility and viscous behavior of these...
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| Format: | article |
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2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11073/25819 |
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| Summary: | Dielectric elastomers, known for their ability to undergo large deformations exceeding 100%, are widely used as actuators in adaptive structures and soft robotics. Within the current contribution, we present a continuum material model that captures the incompressibility and viscous behavior of these polymers under finite s train and e lectric a ctuation. To address l arge deformations, we use a multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient to separate elastic and viscous effects. The elastic response is represented by a Yeoh potential, which is well suited to describe the material behavior under large strains. The evolution of internal strains is modeled using a dissipation function. Electric field a nd d ielectric d isplacement a re modeled i n s patial c onfiguration, le ading to an electromechanically coupled problem. We propose a mixed finite e lement f ormulation w ithin a variational framework based on the above thermodynamic principles. We introduce a novel approach using volume-preserving tensor-valued elements for internal strains, where we make use of matrix exponential functions to achieve incompressiblity exactly. As an example, we consider an experimental setup of a three-dimensional circular actuator. We provide material parameters for VHB4910 for the proposed model, and compare our results to experimental data from a different work. |
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