Modeling and simulation of viscous electro-active polymers
Vogel FA, Göktepe S, Steinmann P, Kuhl E (2014)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2014
Journal
Publisher: Elsevier
Book Volume: 48
Pages Range: 112-128
DOI: 10.1016/j.euromechsol.2014.02.001
Abstract
Electro-active materials are capable of undergoing large deformation when stimulated by an electric field. They can be divided into electronic and ionic electro-active polymers (EAPs) depending on their actuation mechanism based on their composition. We consider electronic EAPs, for which attractive Coulomb forces or local re-orientation of polar groups cause a bulk deformation. Many of these materials exhibit pronounced visco-elastic behavior. Here we show the development and implementation of a constitutive model, which captures the influence of the electric field on the visco-elastic response within a geometrically non-linear finite element framework. The electric field affects not only the equilibrium part of the strain energy function, but also the viscous part. To adopt the familiar additive split of the strain from the small strain setting, we formulate the governing equations in the logarithmic strain space and additively decompose the logarithmic strain into elastic and viscous parts. We show that the incorporation of the electric field in the viscous response significantly alters the relaxation and hysteresis behavior of the model. Our parametric study demonstrates that the model is sensitive to the choice of the electro-viscous coupling parameters. We simulate several actuator structures to illustrate the performance of the method in typical relaxation and creep scenarios. Our model could serve as a design tool for micro-electro-mechanical systems, microfluidic devices, and stimuli-responsive gels such as artificial skin, tactile displays, or artificial muscle. © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Authors with CRIS profile
Franziska Anna Vogel
Lehrstuhl für Technische Mechanik (LTM)
Paul Steinmann
Lehrstuhl für Technische Mechanik (LTM)
Ellen Kuhl
Involved external institutions
United States (USA) (US)How to cite
APA:
Vogel, F.A., Göktepe, S., Steinmann, P., & Kuhl, E. (2014). Modeling and simulation of viscous electro-active polymers. European Journal of Mechanics A-Solids, 48, 112-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euromechsol.2014.02.001
MLA:
Vogel, Franziska Anna, et al. "Modeling and simulation of viscous electro-active polymers." European Journal of Mechanics A-Solids 48 (2014): 112-128.
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