DE (dielectric elastomer) is one of the most promising artificial muscle materials for its large strain over 100% under driving voltage. However, to date, dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are prone to failure due to the temperature-dependent electric breakdown. Previously studies had shown that the
electrical breakdown strength was mainly related to the temperature-dependent elasticity modulus and
the permittivity of dielectric substances. This paper investigated the influence of ambient temperature
on the electric breakdown strength of DE membranes (VHB4910 3M). The electric breakdown experiment of the DE membrane was conducted at different ambient temperatures and pre-stretch levels. The real breakdown strength was obtained by measuring the deformation and the breakdown
voltage simultaneously. Then, we found that with the increase of the environment temperature, the electric breakdown strength decreased obviously. Contrarily, the high pre-stretch level led to the large
electric breakdown strength. What is more, we found that the deformations of DEs were strongly dependent on the ambient temperature.
The performance of a charge-controlled dielectric elastomer membrane is remarkably affected by the leakage current. Based on a charge-controlled dielectric elastomer configuration, this
paper presents a theoretical study about the effect of leakage current on the performance of a dielectric elastomer membrane by spraying charge to the two surfaces of DE membrane. It is found that all of the stretch, the charge, and the electric displacement reduce gradually with
the time because of the current leakage. The leakage current reduces gradually with the time, and has an abrupt drop in the initial period and becomes gently after a relatively long time.
Based on the results of this paper, we have to keep spraying charge to make up the leaked one to maintain the charge-induced stretch.
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