Abstract
In this contribution, a computational thermo-electro-mechanical framework is considered, to simulate coupling between the mechanical, electrical and thermal fields, in nonhomogeneous electro-active materials. A thermo-electro-mechanical material model and a mixed Q1P0 finite element framework are described and used for the simulations. Finite element simulations of the response of heterogeneous structures consisting of a soft matrix and a stiff incluison are considered. The behavior of the composite material is studied for varying initial temperatures, different volume fractions and various aspect ratios of the inclusion. For some of the examples, the response of the structure beyond a limit point of electro-mechanical instability is traced. Regarding the soft matrix of the composite, thermal properties of silicone rubber at normal conditions have been obtained by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The material parameters obtained by MD simulations are used within the finite element simulations.
Highlights
Simulation of Electro-ActiveElectro-active polymers (EAP) are smart materials that can be favorably used in artificial muscles and soft robotics
It has been demonstrated that the intensity of electro-mechanical coupling in particle-filled Dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) is enhanced as the volume fraction of embedded particles increases [8,9]
The results show that increasing the volume fraction f leads to higher polarization intensity in terms of e [−] for the same value of the electric field e
Summary
Electro-active polymers (EAP) are smart materials that can be favorably used in artificial muscles and soft robotics. It has been shown that through driving the simulation using surface charges, the response of EAP beyond the occurrence of electro-mechanical instability can be simulated using the more convenient mixed energy-enthalpy-based approach [12]. Finite element modeling of thermo-electro-mechanical interactions in nonhomogeneous electro-active materials is considered. Regarding the constitutive model used in the present work, a material description that takes into account a quasi-linear dielectric response [25] and an entropic thermo-elastic coupling [30] is adopted. The effect of varying volume fraction and changing aspect ratio of a stiff inclusion on the overall composite’s response are numerically investigated. Both polarization behavior and intensity of electro-mechanical coupling are evaluated.
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