Date of download: 7/31/2017
Copyright © ASME. All rights reserved.
From: Computational Model of Hydrostatically Coupled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
J. Appl. Mech. 2012;79(3):031008-031008-8. doi:10.1115/1.4005885
Figure Legend:
Sectional views of a HCDE actuator. Two membranes of a dielectric elastomer are clamped by rigid circular rings. The bottom
membrane is sandwiched between soft electrodes, which are connected to a voltage source. Confined in between the membranes is
a certain volume of a fluid. (a) When the voltage is off, the actuator is in the rest state. (b) When the voltage in on, the bottom
membrane expands in area and moves downward, pulling the top membrane down through the coupling fluid.