Theoretical study of the electroactive bistable actuator and regulation methods  

作　　者：Wenjie Sun Huwei Liang Fei Zhang Bo Li 

机构地区：[1]School of Mechanical and Precision Instrument Engineering,Xi’an University of Technology,710048,Xi’an,China [2]State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures and School of Aerospace,Xi’an Jiaotong University,710049,Xi’an,China [3]CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience,Beijing Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Energy and Sensor,Beijing Institute of Nano Energy and Nano Systems,Chinese Academy of Sciences,101400,Beijing,China [4]State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing System Engineering,Shaanxi Key Lab for the Intelligent Robots,School of Mechanical Engineering,Xi’an Jiaotong University,710049,Xi’an,China

出　　处：《International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials》2023年第1期36-56,共21页国际智能和纳米材料杂志（英文）

基　　金：the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2019YFB1311600);Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.11902248 and 52075411);Shaanxi Key Research and Development Program(2020ZDLGY06-11);the State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures(SV2018-KF-08).

摘　　要：Dielectric elastomer actuators have attracted growing interest for soft robot due to their large deformation and fast response.However,continuous high-voltage loading tends to cause the electric breakdown of the actuator due to heat accumulation,and viscoelasticity complicates precise control.The snap-through bistability of the Venus flytrap is one of the essential inspirations for bionic structure,which can be adopted to improve the shortcoming of dielectric elastomer actuators and develop a new actuation structure with low energy consumption,variable configuration,and multi-mode actuation.Hence,in this paper,the structural design principles of electroactive bistable actuators are first presented based on the total potential energy of the structure.Following that,a feasible design parameter region is provided,the influence of crucial parameters on the actuation stroke,trigger voltage,and actuation charge are discussed.Finally,according to the coupling relationship between the bending stiffness and the bistable property of the actuator,the adjusting methods of bistable actuation are explored.A qualitative experiment was performed to verify the feasibility and correctness of the bistable design methodology and the actuation regulation strategy.This study provides significant theoretical guidance and technical support for developing and applying dielectric elastomer actuators with multi-mode,high-performance,and long-life characteristics.

关 键 词：Dielectric elastomer bistable structure SNAP-THROUGH electromechanical actuation minimum energy structure 

分 类 号：TH112[机械工程—机械设计及理论]