An open-loop control scheme to increase the speed and reduce the viscoelastic drift of dielectric elastomer actuators

Abstract

We present a simple open-loop method to increase the response speed and suppress the viscoelastic creep of dielectric elastomer actuators. The parameters of the model can be extracted from two simple measurements: a strain vs. voltage ramp, and the strain response to a voltage step. We demonstrate the method by generating different strain profiles on actuators made with VHB or silicone membranes. We show an efficient reduction of the viscoelastic drift, and an increase in response speed by a factor of 150 for VHB actuators, and 25 for silicone actuators.