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The paper presents a Hamiltonian approach for extracting the dynamic instability parameters of homogeneously deforming dielectric elastomer actuators subjected to an unequal biaxial prestress, and driven by a suddenly applied electric load. The approach relies on setting up the balance between the kinetic, strain, and electrostatic energy at the point of maximum overshoot in an oscillation cycle. The equation of the stagnation curve, obtained by invoking aforestated statement of energy-balance, is operated upon by the condition of instability to determine the instability parameters. The underlying principles of the approach are elucidated by considering the Ogden family of hyperelastic material models. The approach is however portrayed generically, and hence, can be extended to the other hyperelastic material models of interest. The estimates of the dynamic instability parameters are corroborated by examining the saddle-node bifurcation points in the time-history response obtained by integrating the equation of motion. A parametric study is conducted to bring out the effect of unequal biaxial prestress, and the trends of variation of the critical electric field and the thickness-stretch on the onset of dynamic instability are presented. A quantitative comparison with the static instability parameters reveals that the dynamic instability gets triggered for electric fields that are lower than those corresponding to the static instability. In contrast, the maximum stretch experienced by the actuator at the dynamic instability is significantly higher than that at the static instability. The crucial inferences can find their potential use in the design of DEAs subjected to a transient motion.

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Electrically driven dielectric elastomers (DEs) suffer from an electromechanical instability (EMI) when the applied potential difference reaches a critical value. A majority of the past investigations address the mechanics of this operational instability by restricting the kinematics to homogeneous deformations. However, a DE membrane comprising both active and inactive electric regions undergoes inhomogeneous deformation, thus necessitating the solution of a complex boundary value problem. This paper reports the numerical and experimental investigation of such DE actuators with a particular emphasis on the EMI in quasistatic mode of actuation. The numerical simulations are performed using an in-house finite element framework developed based on the field theory of deformable dielectrics. Experiments are performed on the commercially available acrylic elastomer (VHB 4910) at varying levels of prestretch and proportions of the active to inactive areas. In particular, two salient features associated with the electromechanical response are addressed: the effect of the flexible boundary constraint and the locus of the dielectric breakdown point. To highlight the influence of the flexible boundary constraint, the estimates of the threshold value of potential difference on the onset of electromechanical instability are compared with the experimental observations and with those obtained using the lumped parameter models reported previously. Additionally, a locus of localized thinning, near the boundary of the active electric region, is identified using the numerical simulations and ascertained through the experimental observations. Finally, an approach based on the Airy stress function is suggested to justify the phenomenon of localized thinning leading to the dielectric breakdown.