Ambient humidity altering electromechanical actuation of dielectric elastomers

摘要

The electromechanical actuation performance of dielectric elastomers is strongly affected by the environmental conditions, such as ambient humidity. The dielectric constant of the Very-High-Bond (VHB) 4910 elastomer is first experimentally investigated under different ambient humidities. Subsequently, at a constant DC voltage, the induced deformation of the VHB 4910 elastomer is found to be augmented when the ambient humidity increases. Theoretical simulation is simultaneously performed for the electromechanical actuation of VHB 4910 under several humidities. Finally, by applying a ramp voltage, the experimental results demonstrate that the electromechanical breakdown field of the VHB elastomer decreases with humidity.