An electro-mechanically coupled model for the dynamic behavior of a dielectric electro-active polymer actuator

Dielectric electro-active polymer (DEAP) technology holds promise for enabling lightweight, energy efficient, and scalable actuators. The circular DEAP actuator configuration (also known as cone or diaphragm actuator) in particular shows potential in applications such as pumps, valves, micro-positioners and loudspeakers. For a quantitative prediction of the actuator behavior as well as for design optimization tasks, material models which can reproduce the coupled electromechanical behavior inherent to these actuators are necessary. This paper presents a non-linear viscoelastic model based on an electro-mechanical Ogden free energy expression for the DEAP. The DEAP model is coupled with a spring/mass system to study the dynamic performance of such a representative system from static behavior to 50 Hz. The system is identified and validated by several different experiments.