Dielectric elastomers systems

Other efforts which could be made are to put these dielectric elastomer generators on the suspensions of automobiles to aid in the electricity use during operation. This would make things easier on the charging system of the automobile which could possibly save fuel consumption. 

Toth, L.A. and Goldenburg, A.A., Control system design for a dielectric elastomer actuator The sensory subsystem, smart stmctures and materials 2002, in Electroactive pol3mier actuators and devices, Y. Bar-Cohen (Ed.), Proceedings ofSPIE, Vol. 4695, 0277-786X/2002. 

Prahlad, H., Kombluh, R., Pelrine, R., Stanford, S., Eckerle, J., and Oh, S. Polymer power Dielectric elastomers and their applications in distributed actuation and power generation. Proceedings of ISSS International Conference on Smart Materials, Structures and Systems, Bangalore, India, July 28-30, 2005, SA-13, pp. 100-107. 

The benefit of being able to sense deflections, generate energy, and modulate stiffness may have substantial impacts on the use of dielectric elastomers as artificial muscles in robotic and prosthetic applications. The DE elements could act as artificial analogs of natural muscle, sensory systems, and digestive systems. A robot consisting of DE elements should therefore someday be capable of controlled motion without the need for additional sensors, and self-sustainability without requiring and an external source of electricity. 

Kim H, Park J, Chuc NH, Choi HR, Nam JD, Lee Y, Jung HS, Koo JC (2(X)7) Development of dielectric elastomer driven micro-optical zoom lens system. Proc SPIE 6524 65241V... 

Carpi F, Khanicheh A, Mavroidis C, De Rossi D (2(X)8) Silicone made contractile dielectric elastomer actuators inside 3-Tesla MRI environment. 2008 lEEE/RSJ international conference on intelligent robots and systems, Nice, France, 22-26 Sept 2008, pp 137-142... 

Michel S, Bormarm A, JotiU C, Fink E (2008) Feasibility studies for a bionic propulsion system of a blimp based on dielectric elastomers. Proc SPIE 6927 69270S... 

Next, we will introduce specific examples of energy harvesting systems that have been built or contemplated by the authors or collaborators. In addition to highlighting the potential of dielectric elastomer power generation, this section will also provide specihc examples of the systems-related issues and serve as a springboard for a discussion of these system issues such as lifetime. 

Fig. 3.5 Notional dielectric elastomer devices that can harvest human kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is available from vertical motion and from the negative work done at the ankles, knees, and hips. Energy harvesting devices can be strategically located in equipage to selectively harvest this energy in order to provide power to electronic systems. This arrangement will not hamper mobility and should actually reduce fatigue. [Source adapted from Infoscitex Corp. and SRI International]...

SRI developed and demonstrated the use of dielectric elastomers for harvesting the energy of ocean waves. This work included two sea trials in which SRI deployed a complete energy harvesting system at sea. Figure 3.7 shows the system for the first sea trial conducted in Tampa Bay near St. Petersburg, Florida. 

Fig. 3.7 Dielectric elastomer ocean wave power generator based on a proof mass, system tested at sea (top) and CAD model of a final system that might be used for supplying power to navigation and scientific buoys (bottom)...

Fig. 3.8 Dielectric elastomer ocean wave power generator based on a an articulated multibody system, individual roll transducer (top left), concatenated rolls in a generator module (bottom left), and buoy at sea trial site (right)...

Fig. 3.10 Highly modular distributed ocean wave energy harvesting system based on dielectric elastomer transducers...

Prahlad H, Kombluh R, Pelrine R, Stanford S, Eckerle J, Oh S (2005) Polymer power dielectric elastomers and their applications in distributed actuation and power generation. In Proceedings of ISSS 2005 international conference on smart materials structures and systems, pp SA-lOO-SA-107... 

Lacour LP, Prahlad H, Pelrine R, Wagner S (2004) Mechatronic system of dielectric elastomer actuators addressed by thin film photoconductors on plastic. Sens Actuators A Phys lll(2-3) 288-292. doi 10.1016/j.sna.2003.12.009... 

Toth LA and Goldenberg AA (2002) Control system design for a dielectric elastomer actuator the sensory subsystem. EAPAD 2002 Proc SPIE 4695 323. doi 10.1117/12.475179... 

Stimuli-responsive materials have sparked enormous interest in recent years due to their potential applications in micro-machines, soft robots, biomedical systems, etc. [1-6]. A variety of intelligent polymeric materials such as shape memory polymers [7, 8], polymer gels [9, 10], conducting polymers [11, 12], and dielectric elastomers [13,14] have been developed for these applications. Compared to other stimulus-driven methods including pressure [15], heat [16, 17], electric field... 

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