Electromechanical phase transition of a dielectric elastomer tube under internal pressure of constant mass

Abstract

The electromechanical phase transition for a dielectric elastomer (DE) tube has been demonstrated in recent experiments, where it is found that the unbulged phase gradually changed into bulged phase. Previous theoretical works only studied the transition process under pressure control condition, which is not consistent with the real experimental condition. This paper focuses on more complex features of the electromechanical phase transition under internal pressure of constant mass. We derive the equilibrium equations and the condition for coexistent states for a DE tube under an internal pressure, a voltage through the thickness and an axial force. We find that under mass control condition the voltage needed to maintain the phase transition increases as the process proceeds. We analyze the entire process of electromechanical phase transition and find that the evolution of configurations is also different from that for pressure control condition.

Keywords

• Phase transition
• Dielectric elastomer
• Electromechanical coupling
• Phase coexistence