Dielectric elastomers electrical model

Koh et al. [6] have rigorously modeled the electromechanics of this interaction for the simplified case of uniform biaxial stretching of an incompressible polymer film including many important effects such as the nonlinear stiffness behavior of the polymer film and the variation in breakdown field with the state of strain. With regard to the latter effect, Pelrine et al. [5] showed the dramatic effect of prestrain on the performance of dielectric elastomers (specifically silicones and acrylics) as actuators. We would expect the same breakdown enhancement effects to be involved with regard to power generation. There are many additional effects that may be important, such as electrical and mechanical loss mechanisms, interaction with the environment or circuits, frequency, and temperature-dependent effects on material parameters. The analysis by Koh provides the state equations... 

Real materials, particularly polymers, exhibit complex phenomena, such as hysteresis, electrical leakage, crack growth, and others. Later chapters in this section will explore the detailed characterization and modeling of realistic dielectric elastomer... 

In one of the first papers dealing with dielectric elastomers, Pelrine et al. (1998) proposed a widely used model to analyze stresses and strains in a thin elastomeric membrane subjected to a transverse electric field. The notion of Maxwell s pressure Pel = eE is well known among the EAP research community. How does this concept match with the theory developed here This can be easily explained recalling that fire stress measure adopted by Pelrine et al. (1998) corresponds to our and their model is valid only for incompressible materials. 

---