The effects of additives on the actuating performances of a dielectric elastomer actuator

• Published in: Smart materials and structures Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 015006 - 015006 (9)
• Main Authors: Nguyen, Huu Chuc, Doan, Vu Thuy, Park, JongKil, Koo, Ja Choon, Lee, Youngkwan, Nam, Jae-do, Choi, Hyouk Ryeol
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol IOP Publishing 01.01.2009; Institute of Physics
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Elastomers; Exact sciences and technology; Forms of application and semi-finished materials; General equipment and techniques; Industrial polymers. Preparations; Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy; Physics; Polymer industry, paints, wood; Technology of polymers; Transducers; Actuators; Electrical properties; Dielectric materials; Doping; Elastomers; Composition effect; Experimental study; Titanium oxide; Electromechanical properties
• ISSN: 0964-1726; 1361-665X
• DOI: 10.1088/0964-1726/18/1/015006

This paper presents a comprehensive study of the effects of additives on the performance of a dielectric elastomer actuator. Previously, a new dielectric elastomer material, called 'synthetic elastomer', was presented for the means of actuation, which permits changes in the mechanical as well as the electrical properties in order to meet the requirements of certain applications. This work studies how the electromechanical properties of the synthetic elastomer can be adjusted by combining two additives, namely dioctyl phthalate (DOP) and titanium dioxide (TiO2). Experiments are carried out and the effects of each additive are compared to one another based on the actuation performances.