Nonlinear dynamics and chaos control of circular dielectric energy generator

Abstract

The current study focuses on the nonlinear dynamics of the dielectric elastomer generator (DEG). To begin with, we will go through DEG’s operating principles, parameters, materials, and deformation modes. On this basis, the dynamical modeling for the nonlinear behavior of the DEG system is described, and the second-order nonlinear ordinary differential equation representing radially symmetric motion is derived using Hamilton’s variational principle. A static applied electric field allows the DEG system to attain two equilibrium states: thick and thin. The effects of the stiffening phenomenon on the dynamics of the DEG system are investigated. The system converges to a stable equilibrium point under constant loads, and the convergence position and velocity are closely related to both the initial states. Subjected to periodic loads, certain phenomena such as quasiperiodicity and chaos are detected, and the chaotic phenomena are explored using the bifurcation diagram and 0-1 chaos test. Furthermore, parametric studies are carried out using numerical analyses to demonstrate the influence of load amplitude and external frequency on the dynamics of the DEG system. Once the DEG enters the chaotic regime, the chaotic zone is transformed into a stable manifold using established chaos control techniques such as system parameter change and parametric perturbation. However, because these techniques require changes in system design, we proposed a chaos control by using a non-linear controller, specifically, adaptive integral backstepping sliding mode control (AIBSMC) as one demonstrative candidate. The controller also enables the DEG system to follow motion along a predefined trajectory. The current work may be expected to substantially impact the future design and performance of energy harvesters.