Design of dielectric electroactive polymers for a compact and scalable variable stiffness device

Dastoor, Sanjay; Cutkosky, Mark R.

doi:10.1109/icra.2012.6224808

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…For this particular dielectric material and prestrain, 6kV is approximately the maximum voltage possible before dielectric breakdown occurs [23]. Note that while there is some nonlinearity due to material properties and due to the axisymmetric geometry [21], the stiffness at each voltage is approximately constant for displacements below 2.5 mm. …”

Section: Variable Stiffness Performancementioning

confidence: 98%

“…The time constant for the stiffness change is dependent only on the ability of the power supply to supply enough charge to produce the required electric field. Since the stiffness-voltage relationship is quadratic [21], we can determine the stiffness as a function of time and the maximum current capability of the power supply. Voltage on a capacitor is given by…”

Section: Response Timementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The diaphragms are manufactured by masking and spray coating a prestrained acrylic film with successive layers of anti-tear coatings and compliant electrodes and then gluing on a rigid fiberglass frame. Further details on the design and manufacturing process are provided in [21].…”

Section: Electroactive Polymersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Jumping Robot with a Tunable Suspension Based on Artificial Muscles

Dastoor

Weiss

Stuart

et al. 2012

Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems

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Abstract. This paper describes the design and control of a suspension based on electroactive polymers for controlling the landing dynamics of a jumping robot. Tunable suspension elements can electrically change their stiffness up to a factor of 10 in less than 0.01 seconds. We discuss design parameters and performance relevant to bio-inspired systems and demonstrate the ability to operate in positive (actuator), neutral (spring-like), or negative (damping or braking) workloops. When applied to a singlelegged robot, positive workloops allow sustained periodic hopping while negative workloops can be used to rapidly achieve equilibrium during a landing event, acting in a similar manner to muscle in jumping animals. Extended bio-inspired applications are discussed.

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Section: Variable Stiffness Performancementioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Response Timementioning

confidence: 99%

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Jumping Robot with a Tunable Suspension Based on Artificial Muscles

Dastoor

Weiss

Stuart

et al. 2012

Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems

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“…Actual shape This paper deals with the characterization and performance prediction of circular DEAP membrane actuators, also known as cone 1 or diaphragm 13 actuators, shown in Figure 2. In a first step force-displacement measurements are conducted with various constant voltages (CV) applied to the DEAP.…”

Section: Truncated -Cone Approximationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance prediction of circular dielectric electro-active polymers membrane actuators with various geometries

2015

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Circular dielectric electro-active polymer (DEAP) membrane actuators are easy to manufacture 1 and therefore can be uniquely designed to perform optimally for specific applications. The performance of these actuators is naturally dependent on the materials used, and also dictated by the specific geometry of the circular design. For a given overall actuator size, changing their internal geometry will directly change the force and stroke output 2 . In addition the DEAP technology itself is a promising technology for constructing lightweight, cost and energy efficient sensor and actuator systems 3 . Thus, several potential applications like pressure sensors 4,5 , pumps 6,7 , valves, micro-positioners and loudspeakers 8 were already proposed.The circular DEAP membrane actuators used in this study consist of a silicone based elastomer, carbon ink based electrodes, and are held together with a stiff frame. Experimentally collected force-displacement curves for these actuators can be used to determine force and stroke output of the actuators as described by Hodgins et al. in 9,10 . This work presents an efficient method to predict these force-displacement plots and thus stroke and force output for different actuator geometries. These results than can be used to adapt the actuator geometry to the needs of a specific application with its particular force and stroke requirements. The prediction method is based on an average stress-stretch calculation for training samples. The calculated stress-stretch data is then geometry independent and can be used to predict desired geometry dependent force-displacement data for stroke and force output analysis.

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“…The other design found on in-plane expansion of dielectric membrane is a stiffness-control system [65] allowing a 7 to 10 times change in stiffness that can be where H is the original thickness. By applying all the parameters, we can interpret the observed actuation behavior under applied voltage V by the following governing equations: By attaching a pre-stretched elastomer on a flexible planar -frame, the frame would assume a 3D shape to minimize total elastic energy of the combined membrane-frame actuator structure.…”

Section: In-plane Actuatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization, fabrication, and analysis of soft dielectric elastomer actuators capable of complex 3D deformation

Lai

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Design of dielectric electroactive polymers for a compact and scalable variable stiffness device

Cited by 18 publications

References 17 publications

Jumping Robot with a Tunable Suspension Based on Artificial Muscles

Jumping Robot with a Tunable Suspension Based on Artificial Muscles

Performance prediction of circular dielectric electro-active polymers membrane actuators with various geometries

Characterization, fabrication, and analysis of soft dielectric elastomer actuators capable of complex 3D deformation

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