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Harnessing snap-through instability in soft dielectrics to achieve giant...
For a dielectric elastomer membrane we show giant voltage-triggered expansion of area by 1692%, far beyond the largest values reported in the literature. A soft dielectric membrane is...
View ArticleConcurrent reaction and plasticity during initial lithiation of crystalline...
In an electrochemical cell, crystalline silicon and lithium react at room temperature, forming an amorphous phase of lithiated silicon. The reaction front—the phase boundary between the crystalline...
View Article26th issue of the WW-EAP Newsletter is now available
The 26th issue of the WW-EAP Newsletter is now available at: http://ndeaa.jpl.nasa.gov/nasa-nde/newsltr/WW-EAP_Newsletter13-2.pdfThis newsletter on the field of electroactive polymers, edited by Dr....
View ArticleCreasing instability of elastomer films
The creasing instability of elastomer films under compression is studied by a combination of experiment and numerical simulation. Experimentally, we attach a stress-free film on a much thicker and...
View ArticleEquations of state for ideal elastomeric gels
Submerged in a solvent-containing environment and subject to applied forces, a covalent polymer network absorbs the solvent and deforms, forming an elastomeric gel. The equations of state are derived...
View ArticleModel of dissipative dielectric elastomers
Choon Chiang Foo, Shengqiang Cai, Soo Jin Adrian Koh, Siegfried Bauer, Zhigang Suo. Model of dissipative dielectric elastomers. Journal of Applied Physics 111, 034102 (2012). Abstract The dynamic...
View ArticleMechanics of stretchable electronics and soft machines
Sigurd Wagner and Siegfried Bauer have just edited an exciting issue of the MRS Bulletin: Materials for Stretchable Electronics. All articles contain phenomena related to mechanics. Here is the...
View ArticleDielectric elastomer actuators under equal-biaxial forces, uniaxial forces,...
A membrane of a dielectric elastomer deforms when a voltage is applied through its thickness. The achievable voltage-induced deformation is strongly affected by how mechanical loads are applied. Large...
View ArticlePerformance of dissipative dielectric elastomer generators
Choon Chiang Foo, Soo Jin Adrian Koh, Christoph Keplinger, Rainer Kaltseis, Siegfried Bauer, Zhigang Suo. Performance of dissipative dielectric elastomer generators. Journal of Applied Physics 111,...
View ArticleComplex interplay of nonlinear processes in dielectric elastomers.
A combination of experiment and theory shows that dielectric elastomers exhibit complex interplay of nonlinear processes. Membranes of a dielectric elastomer are prepared in various states of...
View ArticleLarge, uni-directional actuation in dielectric elastomers achieved by fiber...
Cylindrical actuators are made with dielectric elastomer sheets stiffened with fibers in the hoop direction. When a voltage is applied through the thickness of the sheets, large actuation strains are...
View ArticleRupture of a highly stretchable acrylic dielectric elastomer (VHB)
Dielectric elastomer transducers are often subject to large tensile stretches and are susceptible to rupture. Here we carry out an experimental study of the rupture behavior of membranes of an acrylic...
View ArticleExperimental determination of equations of state for ideal elastomeric gels.
Jianyu Li, Yuhang Hu, Joost J. Vlassak, Zhigang Suo. Experimental determination of equations of state for ideal elastomeric gels. Soft Matter. publihsed online. A polymer network can absorb a solvent...
View ArticleFracture and debonding in lithium-ion batteries with electrodes of hollow...
In a novel design of lithium-ion batteries, hollow electrode particles coated with stiff shells are used to mitigate mechanical and chemical degradation. In particular, silicon anodes of such...
View ArticleReactive flow in silicon electrodes assisted by the insertion of lithium
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nl302261w In the search for high-energy density materials for Li-ion batteries, silicon has emerged as a promising candidate for anodes due to its ability to absorb...
View ArticleReactive flow in large-deformation electrodes of lithium-ion batteries
An electrode in a lithium-ion battery may undergo inelastic processes of two types: flow and reaction. Flow changes the shape of the electrode, preserves its composition and volume, and is driven...
View ArticleKinetics of Initial Lithiation of Crystalline Silicon Electrodes of...
Electrochemical experiments were conducted on {100}, {110}, and {111} silicon wafers to characterize the kinetics of the initial lithiation of crystalline Si electrodes. Under constant current...
View Articleviscoelasticity and poroelasticity in elastomeric gels
An elastomeric gel is a mixture of a polymer network and a solvent. In response to changes in mechanical forces and in the chemical potential of the solvent in the environment, the gel evolves by two...
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Giant voltage-induced deformation in dielectric elastomers near the verge of...
Dielectric elastomers are capable of large voltage-induced deformation, but achieving such large deformation in practice has been a major challenge due to electromechanical instability and...
View ArticleReactive flow in solids
By Laurence Brassart and Zhigang Suo Abstract: When guest atoms diffuse into a host solid and react, the host may flow inelastically. Often a reaction can stimulate flow in a host too brittle to flow...
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Highly stretchable and tough hydrogels
Jeong-Yun Sun, Xuanhe Zhao, Widusha R.K. Illeperuma, Kyu Hwan Oh, David J. Mooney, Joost J. Vlassak, Zhigang Suo. Highly stretchable and tough hydrogels. Nature 489, 133-136 (2012).Watch movie on...
View ArticleRobotic Tentacles with Three-Dimensional Mobility Based on Flexible Elastomers
Soft pneumatic robots based on flexible elastomers can distribute pressure uniformly over large areas without elaborate controls; this capability makes it possible for them to manipulate fragile and...
View ArticleLarge conversion of energy in dielectric elastomers by electromechanical...
When air is pumped in, a tubular balloon initially inflates slightly and homogeneously. A short section of the balloon then forms a bulge, which coexists with the unbulged section of the balloon. As...
View ArticleThe thickness and stretch dependence of the electrical breakdown strength of...
The performance of dielectric elastomer actuators is limited by electrical breakdown. Attempts to measure this are confounded by the voltage-induced thinning of the elastomer. A test configuration is...
View ArticleMaximizing the Energy Density of Dielectric Elastomer Generators Using...
Dielectric elastomer generators (DEGs) for harvesting electrical energy from mechanical work have been demonstrated but the energy densities achieved are still small compared with theoretical...
View ArticleJournal Club Theme of September 2013: Stretchable Ionics
In a paper just published in Science, we describe a class of devices fabricated using stretchable, transparent, ionic conductors. These devices are highly deformable and fully transparent. They can...
View ArticleForce and stroke of a hydrogel actuator
Hydrogels that undergo a volume phase transition in response to an external stimulus are of great interest because of their possible use as actuator materials. The performance of an actuator material...
View ArticleMeasurements of the Fracture Energy of Lithiated Silicon Electrodes of Li-ion...
We have measured the fracture energy of lithiated silicon thin-film electrodes as a function of lithium concentration. To this end, we have constructed an electrochemical cell capable of testing...
View ArticleStrengthening alginate/polyacrylamide hydrogels using various multivalent...
We successfully synthesized a family of alginate/polyacrylamide hydrogels using various multivalent cations. These hydrogels exhibit exceptional mechanical properties. In particular, we found that the...
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