Modelling approaches for a novel balloon-shape actuator made of electroactive polymers

The focus of this paper is on the characterization of a balloon-shape actuator (BSA), based on dielectric electroactive polymers, which has a spherical shape, and it is pre-strained by pressurized air. Under electrical activation, the electrodes on the inner and outer surfaces of the BSA squeeze the elastomer in its radial thickness direction which results in a radial expansion of the BSA. This actuator has the potential to display large deformations under high compression loads. In this paper, a finite element model of the BSA is created by using ANSYS11 software. The mechanical behaviour of the BSA is studied, and the simulation results are presented. The mechanical properties of dielectric elastomers are experimentally measured and hyperelastic models used to fit the experimental data.

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