Performance investigation of a dissipative dielectric elastomer generator by the damping model

Abstract

This paper proposes an analytical model to investigate the performance of a dissipative dielectric elastomer generator (DEG) by considering the damping effect and the leakage current. Based on the analytical model, we study the effect of the cycle period, the maximum stretch ratio, and the pre-stretch ratio on the performance parameters of DEGs: the energy density, the average power density, and the conversion efficiency. The simulation results show that increasing the cycle period contributes to improving the energy density and the conversion efficiency. Moreover, the energy density and the average power density increase with the increase in the maximum stretch ratio. In addition, as the pre-stretch ratio increases, the energy density and the average power density can decrease. These methods and conclusions can better guide the optimal design and assessment of DEGs.