Investigation on the performance of a viscoelastic dielectric elastomer membrane generator

Abstract

Dielectric elastomer generators (DEGs), as a recent transduction technology, harvest electrical energy by scavenging mechanical energy from diverse sources. Their performance is affected by various material properties and failure modes of the dielectric elastomers. This work presents a theoretical analysis on the performance of a dielectric elastomer membrane generator under equi-biaxial loading conditions. By comparing our simulation results with the experimental observations existing in the literature, this work considers the fatigue life of DE-based devices under cyclic loading for the first time. From the simulation results, it is concluded that the efficiency of the DEG can be improved by raising the deforming rate and the prescribed maximum stretch ratio, and applying an appropriate bias voltage. However, the fatigue life expectancy compromises the efficiency improvement of the DEG. With the consideration of the fatigue life, applying an appropriate bias voltage appears to be a more desirable way to improve the DEG performance. The general framework developed in this work is expected to provide an increased understanding on the energy harvesting mechanisms of the DEGs and benefit their optimal design.

Dielectric Elastomers for Energy Harvesting

“…Pelrine and Kornbluh [72] then updated this describing the fundamental science and derivations behind dielectric elastomers as well as covering the failure methods and a variety of dielectric elastomer configurations. In addition to the commonly cited failure limits set out by Koh et al [2], Zhou et al [73] conducted an investigation into the performance and lifetime of dielectric elastomer generators subjected to a cyclic deformation. Their work hypothesised that a decrease in the generator output is due to fatigue cracks forming on the membrane.…”

Capacitive energy harvesting using soft dielectric elastomers: Design, testing and impedance matching optimization

“…A number of fundamental investigations have been focused on this issue, including its energy conversion mechanism and basic electromechanical behaviors, the optimization for cyclic path and control strategy, as well as the primary factors affecting the energy harvesting performance. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] However, most of these studies, such as maximization of the energy harvested, [25][26][27][28][29][30] are usually conducted under idealized assumptions, and only characterize the behaviors of the solo DEG. While the interactive synergy between the deformable device and the conditioning circuit which is precisely crucial to the practical use of this emerging technology, seems to be ignored yet to some extent.…”

Self-stabilizing dielectric elastomer generators

“…Although still unable to match the efficiency of other more established devices, such as electromagnetic generators [11][12][13][14][15], the characteristics of DEGs make them a promising technology to harvest energy from less explored energy sources, such as waves, or even to scavenge energy from human body motion [16][17][18][19][20].…”