Modeling and experimental analysis of an antagonistic energy conversion using dielectric electro-active polymers

Abstract

Dielectric Electro Active Polymers (DEAP) have shown potential features to be applied into the wave energy harvesting purpose. However, current studies of DEAP in generator mode have not sufficiently provided perfect solutions for practical applications. This paper gives a detailed analysis on an antagonistic energy converter (AEC) using two DEAP generators for wave energy application. Firstly, an accurate model of conventional DEAP generator is investigated and compared with that of Neo-Hookean model. Then, the new AEC structure, which consists of two DEAPs in antagonistic connection mode to increase the harvested energy, is introduced. Elastic forces in relaxation phase of one DEAPs are employed to stretch the remained DEAP. Consequently, the required input mechanical energy for each DEAP in AEC is lower than one of conventional DEAP generator. A physical model DEAP generator is also developed for practical operating conditions. Here, electromechanical model of proposed structure is investigated to analyze the performance of the proposed structure. Finally, experiments have been carried out to investigate the performance of the AEC and energy conversion processes. Favorable results e.g. the good agreement between experiments and the modeling results, significant higher energy harvesting efficiency, compact design, and smoother output energy waveforms show great potential to apply the new AEC in real wave energy application.