Electromechanical stability domain of dielectric elastomer film actuators

The dielectric elastomer film will encounter electrical breaking-down frequently in its working state due to the coupling effect of electric field and mechanical force field. Referring to the electromechanical coupling system stability theory of dielectric elastomer proposed by Suo and Zhao, the electromechanical stability analysis of dielectric elastomer has been investigated. The free energy function of dielectric elastomer can be represented by the principle of superposition based on Suo's theory. Unstable domain of electromechanical coupling system of Neo-Hookean type silicone was analyzed by R. Diaz-Calleja et al. In the current work, the elastic strain energy function with two material constants was used to analyze the stable domain of electromechanical coupling system of Mooney-Rivlin type silicone, and the results seem to support R. Diaz-Calleja's theory. These results provide useful guidelines for the design and fabrication of actuators based on dielectric elastomer.