DYNAMICS OF DIELECTRIC ELASTOMER ACTUATORS: MODELLING, EXPERIMENTS AND APPLICATIONS

UJJAVAL GUPTA

Publication

DYNAMICS OF DIELECTRIC ELASTOMER ACTUATORS: MODELLING, EXPERIMENTS AND APPLICATIONS

UJJAVAL GUPTA

Abstract

Dielectric elastomers actuators have been utilized to develop soft actuators and soft robots. They show highly nonlinear behaviour coupled with viscoelasticity which significantly influences their dynamic response. In this thesis, we first, investigate the dynamics of hyperelastic dielectric elastomers in their application to drive a vibration shaker device. The nonlinear dynamic model is developed based on the principles of equilibrium thermodynamics, and subsequently the approach to feedforward control discussed, and its effectiveness to control of vibration shaker examined. Next, a general modelling framework is proposed based on the principles of non-equilibrium thermodynamics to account for viscoelasticity. Investigating the dynamics of viscoelastic dielectric elastomers in their application to drive jaw movement, the nonlinear dynamic model is developed, the feedforward control approach is proposed, and its effectiveness examined. Finally, we highlight the development of a soft robot which can achieve locomotion by harnessing the vibration dynamics of dielectric elastomer actuators.