Köckritz Tilo, Luther René, Paschew Georgi, Jansen Irene, Richter Andreas, Jost Oliver, Schönecker Andreas, Beyer Eckhard
Chair of Laser and Surface Technology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
Chair of Polymeric Microsystems, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
Micromachines (Basel). 2016 Sep 23;7(10):172. doi: 10.3390/mi7100172.
Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) are special devices which have a simple working and construction principle and outstanding actuation properties. The DEAs consist of a combination of different materials for the dielectric and electrode layers. The combination of these layers causes incompatibilities in their interconnections. Dramatic differences in the mechanical properties and bad adhesion of the layers are the principal causes for the reduction of the actuation displacement and strong reduction of lifetime. Common DEAs achieve actuation displacements of 2% and a durability of some million cycles. The following investigations represent a new approach to solving the problems of common systems. The investigated DEA consists of only one basic raw polymer, which was modified according to the required demands of each layer. The basic raw polymer was modified with single-walled carbon nanotubes or high- ceramics, for example, lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate. The development of the full polymer DEA comprised the development of materials and technologies to realise a reproducible layer composition. It was proven that the full polymer actuator worked according to the theoretical rules. The investigated system achieved actuation displacements above 20% regarding thickness, outstanding interconnections at each layer without any failures, and durability above 3 million cycles without any indication of an impending malfunction.
介电弹性体致动器（DEA）是一种特殊装置，其工作原理和结构原理简单，且具有出色的驱动性能。DEA由用于电介质层和电极层的不同材料组合而成。这些层的组合导致它们在互连时存在不相容性。层间机械性能的巨大差异和不良附着力是驱动位移减小和寿命大幅缩短的主要原因。普通的DEA实现的驱动位移为2%，耐久性为几百万次循环。以下研究提出了一种解决普通系统问题的新方法。所研究的DEA仅由一种基础原料聚合物组成，该聚合物根据各层的要求进行了改性。基础原料聚合物用单壁碳纳米管或高陶瓷材料（如铌镁酸铅 - 钛酸铅）进行了改性。全聚合物DEA的开发包括材料和技术的开发，以实现可重复的层组成。事实证明，全聚合物致动器按照理论规则工作。所研究的系统在厚度方面实现了超过20%的驱动位移，各层之间具有出色的互连性且无任何故障，耐久性超过300万次循环且没有任何即将出现故障的迹象。
