Design, Manufacturing, and Characterization of Thin, Core-Free, Rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
Julian Kunze,
Johannes Prechtl,
Daniel Bruch,
Bettina Fasolt,
Sophie Nalbach,
Paul Motzki,
Stefan Seelecke,
Gianluca Rizzello
Affiliations
Julian Kunze
Intelligent Materials Systems Lab, Department of Systems Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Saarland University, 66121 Saarbruecken, Germany
Johannes Prechtl
Intelligent Materials Systems Lab, Department of Systems Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Saarland University, 66121 Saarbruecken, Germany
Daniel Bruch
Intelligent Materials Systems Lab, Department of Systems Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Saarland University, 66121 Saarbruecken, Germany
Bettina Fasolt
Intelligent Materials Systems Lab, Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technologies (ZeMA) gGmbH, 66121 Saarbruecken, Germany
Sophie Nalbach
Intelligent Materials Systems Lab, Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technologies (ZeMA) gGmbH, 66121 Saarbruecken, Germany
Paul Motzki
Intelligent Materials Systems Lab, Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technologies (ZeMA) gGmbH, 66121 Saarbruecken, Germany
Stefan Seelecke
Intelligent Materials Systems Lab, Department of Systems Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Saarland University, 66121 Saarbruecken, Germany
Gianluca Rizzello
Intelligent Materials Systems Lab, Department of Systems Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Saarland University, 66121 Saarbruecken, Germany
In this work, we develop a coreless rolled dielectric elastomer actuator (CORDEA) to be used as artificial muscles in soft robotic structures. The new CORDEA concept is based on a 50 µm silicone film with screen-printed electrodes made of carbon black suspended in polydimethylsiloxane. Two printed silicone films are stacked together and then tightly rolled in a spiral-like structure. Readily available off-the-shelf components are used to implement both electrical and mechanical contacts. A novel manufacturing process is developed to enable the production of rolled actuators without a hollow core, with a focus on simplicity and reliability. In this way, actuator systems with high energy density can be effectively achieved. After presenting the design, an experimental evaluation of the CORDEA electromechanical behavior is performed. Finally, actuator experiments in which the CORDEA is pre-loaded with a mass load and subsequently subject to cycling voltage are illustrated, and the resulting performance is discussed.
