Manufacture and Experimental Investigation of a Multi-Layer Generator Based on Dielectric Elastomer

Abstract

As a member of Electroactive Polymers (EAPs), dielectric elastomer (DE) has shown considerable potential for energy harvesting applications. After the basic principle of DE energy harvesting is studied, a multi-layer DE generator using VHB 4910 (3M, USA) is specially designed and fabricated. Then, an improved energy harvesting circuit is designed to make use of harvested electrical energy. Finally, energy harvesting experiments are implemented under the constant charge (open-circuit) condition and the results prove that the multi-layer DE generator fabricated can produce enough energy to constantly drive a light emitting diode. The harvested electrical energy has good consistent with generated electrical energy and the maximum energy harvesting efficiency ηh can reach 89%.

Multilayering VHB films for dielectric elastomer generators with improved lifetime

“…Further, the resulting DE stack is susceptible to interlayer separation, leading to the degradation of device lifetime and energy output. Liu et al designed a DEG stack using prestrained VHB 4910, 22 but the conical configuration was limited by the complex fabrication process, resulting in restricted deformation and reduced energy output. To effectively fabricate a high-performance multilayer DEG using prestrained VHB, it is imperative to maintain film tension and interlayer adhesion, and establish a scalable fabrication process.…”