Finite Deformations of Tubular Dielectric Elastomer Sensors

This article describes a numerical model validated with experimental results for a large stretch tubular sensor. The sensor is a dielectric elastomer (DE) membrane with electrical properties that can be accurately correlated with mechanical strain, for strains well over 50%. The DE sensor is a passive capacitive sensor. To illustrate the concept, the sensor is attached to the inner surface of a fiber-reinforced elastomer actuator, which serves as the host substrate. Fiber-reinforced elastomers configured for pneumatic operation are employed as actuators in robotic, prosthetic, and morphing applications. An electromechanical model for the two-layer composite consisting of the fiber-reinforced elastomer and the sensor is derived. For several illustrative loading profiles, the model yields a strain output for an input capacitance value. Using identical loading cases, an experimental setup was designed to measure sensor output for two different sensor materials: silicone and polyacrylate. The sensitivity of the DE sensor was also evaluated for varying geometrical parameters and is mainly dependent on the initial thickness. Comparison of experimental data and numerical results is very good with an overall error of 3—6%. This work shows that the model is robust in the large strain range and furthermore predicts non-linear strain behavior.

[1]  Roger D. Quinn,et al.  A hydrostatic robot for marine applications , 2000, Robotics Auton. Syst..

[2]  Mary Frecker,et al.  Electro-elastomers: Large deformation analysis of silicone membranes , 2007 .

[3]  Blake Hannaford,et al.  Measurement and modeling of McKibben pneumatic artificial muscles , 1996, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[4]  Blake Hannaford,et al.  McKibben artificial muscles: pneumatic actuators with biomechanical intelligence , 1999, 1999 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (Cat. No.99TH8399).

[5]  R. Rivlin.  Large Elastic Deformations of Isotropic Materials , 1997 .

[6]  Mary Frecker,et al.  A Nonlinear Model for Dielectric Elastomer Membranes , 2005 .

[7]  J. E. Adkins,et al.  Large elastic deformations of isotropic materials IX. The deformation of thin shells , 1952, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[8]  Andrew A. Goldenberg,et al.  Control system design for a dielectric elastomer actuator: the sensory subsystem , 2002, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[9]  Elizabeth V. Mangan,et al.  A biologically inspired gripping device , 2005, Ind. Robot.

[10]  A. D. Kydoniefs.  FINITE AXISYMMETRIC DEFORMATIONS OF AN INITIALLY CYLINDRICAL MEMBRANE REINFORCED WITH INEXTENSIBLE CORDS , 1970 .

[11]  Ivonne Sgura,et al.  Fitting hyperelastic models to experimental data , 2004 .

[12]  Wei Ren,et al.  The strain response of silicone dielectric elastomer actuators , 2005, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[13]  M. Asada,et al.  Design of self-contained biped walker with pneumatic actuators , 2004, SICE 2004 Annual Conference.

[14]  Taro Nakamura,et al.  Development of a pneumatic artificial muscle based on biomechanical characteristics , 2003, IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology, 2003.

[15]  Blake Hannaford,et al.  Accounting for elastic energy storage in McKibben artificial muscle actuators , 2000 .

[16]  N. C. Goulbourne,et al.  On the dynamic electromechanical loading of dielectric elastomer membranes , 2008 .

[17]  W. Liu,et al.  Fiber-Reinforced Membrane Models of McKibben Actuators , 2003 .

[18]  L. Kopecny.  Producing of tactile feedback via pneumatic muscles , 2003, IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology, 2003.

[19]  Ron Pelrine,et al.  High-Strain Actuator Materials Based on Dielectric Elastomers , 2000 .

[20]  M. Matsikoudi-Iliopoulou,et al.  Finite axisymmetric deformations with torsion of an initially cylindrical membrane reinforced with one family inextensible cords , 1987 .

[21]  Marcus Rosenthal,et al.  Applications of dielectric elastomer EPAM sensors , 2007, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[22]  K. Suzumori,et al.  Development of intelligent McKibben actuator with built-in soft conductive rubber sensor , 2005, The 13th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, 2005. Digest of Technical Papers. TRANSDUCERS '05..

[23]  N. C. Goulbourne,et al.  A Study on the Effect of Flexible Electrodes and Passive Layers on the Performance of Dielectric Elastomer Membranes , 2006 .

[24]  A.J.M. Spencer,et al.  FINITE AXISYMMETRIC DEFORMATIONS OF AN INITIALLY CYLINDRICAL ELASTIC MEMBRANE , 1969 .

[25]  Daniel W. Repperger,et al.  A study of pneumatic muscle technology for possible assistance in mobility , 1997, Proceedings of the 19th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. 'Magnificent Milestones and Emerging Opportunities in Medical Engineering' (Cat. No.97CH36136).

[26]  N. C. Goulbourne,et al.  Self-sensing McKibben actuators using dielectric elastomer sensors , 2007, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[27]  J. W. Fox,et al.  Electromechanical Characterization of the Static and Dynamic Response of Dielectric Elastomer Membranes , 2007 .

[28]  C. Phillips,et al.  Modeling the Dynamic Characteristics of Pneumatic Muscle , 2003, Annals of Biomedical Engineering.

[29]  R. Ogden.  Large deformation isotropic elasticity – on the correlation of theory and experiment for incompressible rubberlike solids , 1972, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[30]  N. C. Goulbourne,et al.  Numerical and experimental analysis of McKibben actuators and dielectric elastomer sensors , 2007 .

[31]  H. F. Schulte.  The characteristics of the McKibben artificial muscle , 1961 .

[32]  J. E. Adkins,et al.  Large Elastic Deformations , 1971 .

[33]  L. Hart-Smith,et al.  Large elastic deformations of thin rubber membranes , 1967 .

[34]  Elizabeth V. Mangan,et al.  Development of a peristaltic endoscope , 2002, Proceedings 2002 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.02CH37292).