Slender Dielectric Elastomer Fibers For Artificial Muscles

Dielectric Elastomers (DE) are an attractive actuator material due to large actuation strains, the ability to be formed into a variety of actuator configurations, millisecond-scale response times, and high actuation forces. Currently, actuation voltages are unattractively high due to high thickness in the DE layer – moderate actuation voltages can be achieved with reduction in the tube wall thickness below 75 microns. ATSP Innovations and team partner the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) offer a unique method to ultrathin fabricate DE fibers based on the electrospinning method. Electrospinning has been successfully used to produce fibers with diameters from nanoscale to microscale; in addition, electrospinning methods can produce multi-layer fibers via coaxial needles. Thus, a high efficiency fiber production method would be achieved by electrospinning for production of the three-layer DE fiber including the inner and outer conductive electrode. ATSP Innovations proposes during Phase I to develop an electrospinning method for producing uniform three-layer fibers, and carry out electromechanical characterizations with goal actuation voltages of 1% with a repeatability of >50 cycles, and thermal stability >60°C.