Buckling of elastomer sheets under non-uniform electro-actuation

BENSE, HADRIEN; TREJO, MIGUEL; REYSSAT, ETIENNE; BICO, JOSÉ; ROMAN, BENOÎT

SOFT MATTER

ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY

Año: 2017 vol. 13 p. 2876 - 2885

1744-683X

Dielectric elastomer sheets undergo in-plane expansion when stimulated by a transverse electric field. We study experimentally how dielectric plates subjected to a non-uniform voltage distribution undergo buckling instabilities. Two different configurations involving circular plates are investigated: plates freely floating on a bath of water, and plates clamped on a frame. We describe theoretically the out-of-plane deformation of the plates within the framework of weakly non-linear plate equations. This study constitutes a first step of a route to control the 3D activation of dielectric elastomers