Design, Manufacturing, and Characterization of Thin, Core-Free, Rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

In this work, we develop a coreless rolled dielectric elastomer actuator (CORDEA) to be used as artificial muscles in soft robotic structures. The new CORDEA concept is based on a 50 µm silicone film with screen-printed electrodes made of carbon black suspended in polydimethylsiloxane. Two printed s...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Julian Kunze, Johannes Prechtl, Daniel Bruch, Bettina Fasolt, Sophie Nalbach, Paul Motzki, Stefan Seelecke, Gianluca Rizzello
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	MDPI AG 2021-03-01
Series:	Actuators
Subjects:	dielectric elastomer actuators DEA rolled silicone
Online Access:	https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/10/4/69

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spelling	doaj-99fcd7a12f5a4e47b64067acea06cf6d2021-03-30T23:01:28ZengMDPI AGActuators2076-08252021-03-0110696910.3390/act10040069Design, Manufacturing, and Characterization of Thin, Core-Free, Rolled Dielectric Elastomer ActuatorsJulian Kunze0Johannes Prechtl1Daniel Bruch2Bettina Fasolt3Sophie Nalbach4Paul Motzki5Stefan Seelecke6Gianluca Rizzello7Intelligent Materials Systems Lab, Department of Systems Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Saarland University, 66121 Saarbruecken, GermanyIntelligent Materials Systems Lab, Department of Systems Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Saarland University, 66121 Saarbruecken, GermanyIntelligent Materials Systems Lab, Department of Systems Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Saarland University, 66121 Saarbruecken, GermanyIntelligent Materials Systems Lab, Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technologies (ZeMA) gGmbH, 66121 Saarbruecken, GermanyIntelligent Materials Systems Lab, Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technologies (ZeMA) gGmbH, 66121 Saarbruecken, GermanyIntelligent Materials Systems Lab, Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technologies (ZeMA) gGmbH, 66121 Saarbruecken, GermanyIntelligent Materials Systems Lab, Department of Systems Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Saarland University, 66121 Saarbruecken, GermanyIntelligent Materials Systems Lab, Department of Systems Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Saarland University, 66121 Saarbruecken, GermanyIn this work, we develop a coreless rolled dielectric elastomer actuator (CORDEA) to be used as artificial muscles in soft robotic structures. The new CORDEA concept is based on a 50 µm silicone film with screen-printed electrodes made of carbon black suspended in polydimethylsiloxane. Two printed silicone films are stacked together and then tightly rolled in a spiral-like structure. Readily available off-the-shelf components are used to implement both electrical and mechanical contacts. A novel manufacturing process is developed to enable the production of rolled actuators without a hollow core, with a focus on simplicity and reliability. In this way, actuator systems with high energy density can be effectively achieved. After presenting the design, an experimental evaluation of the CORDEA electromechanical behavior is performed. Finally, actuator experiments in which the CORDEA is pre-loaded with a mass load and subsequently subject to cycling voltage are illustrated, and the resulting performance is discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/10/4/69dielectricelastomeractuatorsDEArolledsilicone
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Julian Kunze Johannes Prechtl Daniel Bruch Bettina Fasolt Sophie Nalbach Paul Motzki Stefan Seelecke Gianluca Rizzello
spellingShingle	Julian Kunze Johannes Prechtl Daniel Bruch Bettina Fasolt Sophie Nalbach Paul Motzki Stefan Seelecke Gianluca Rizzello Design, Manufacturing, and Characterization of Thin, Core-Free, Rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators Actuators dielectric elastomer actuators DEA rolled silicone
author_facet	Julian Kunze Johannes Prechtl Daniel Bruch Bettina Fasolt Sophie Nalbach Paul Motzki Stefan Seelecke Gianluca Rizzello
author_sort	Julian Kunze
title	Design, Manufacturing, and Characterization of Thin, Core-Free, Rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
title_short	Design, Manufacturing, and Characterization of Thin, Core-Free, Rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
title_full	Design, Manufacturing, and Characterization of Thin, Core-Free, Rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
title_fullStr	Design, Manufacturing, and Characterization of Thin, Core-Free, Rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
title_full_unstemmed	Design, Manufacturing, and Characterization of Thin, Core-Free, Rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
title_sort	design, manufacturing, and characterization of thin, core-free, rolled dielectric elastomer actuators
publisher	MDPI AG
series	Actuators
issn	2076-0825
publishDate	2021-03-01
description	In this work, we develop a coreless rolled dielectric elastomer actuator (CORDEA) to be used as artificial muscles in soft robotic structures. The new CORDEA concept is based on a 50 µm silicone film with screen-printed electrodes made of carbon black suspended in polydimethylsiloxane. Two printed silicone films are stacked together and then tightly rolled in a spiral-like structure. Readily available off-the-shelf components are used to implement both electrical and mechanical contacts. A novel manufacturing process is developed to enable the production of rolled actuators without a hollow core, with a focus on simplicity and reliability. In this way, actuator systems with high energy density can be effectively achieved. After presenting the design, an experimental evaluation of the CORDEA electromechanical behavior is performed. Finally, actuator experiments in which the CORDEA is pre-loaded with a mass load and subsequently subject to cycling voltage are illustrated, and the resulting performance is discussed.
topic	dielectric elastomer actuators DEA rolled silicone
url	https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/10/4/69
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Design, Manufacturing, and Characterization of Thin, Core-Free, Rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

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