Bortot, Eliana, Springhetti, Roberta, deBotton, Gal and Gei, Massimiliano (2015) Optimization of Load-driven Soft Dielectric Elastomer Generators. Procedia IUTAM, 12. pp. 42-51. ISSN 2210-9838
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Abstract
The performance of energy harvesting generators based on dielectric elastomers is investigated in this contribution. The amount of energy extracted by a four-step load-driven cycle is constrained by structural instabilities due to the loss of tension, the electric breakdown and the ultimate stretch ratio. To identify the optimal cycle complying with these limits, we formulate a constraint optimization problem proving the dependency of the generator performance on the ultimate stretch ratio and, moreover, a universal limit on the dielectric strength beyond which the optimal cycle is independent of this parameter. Thus, we reveal that there is an upper bound on the amount of harvested energy that depends only on the ultimate stretch ratio.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Energy harvesting, electro-active polymers, smart materials, optimization, electroelasticity |
| Subjects: | H300 Mechanical Engineering |
| Department: | Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Mechanical and Construction Engineering |
| Depositing User: | Becky Skoyles |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Apr 2019 12:24 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Aug 2021 12:05 |
| URI: | http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/38897 |
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