Improved Force-Displacement of a Dielectric Electro-active Polymer Actuator using a Negative-Rate Bias Spring Mechanism

摘要

This paper presents experimentation and modeling of a small profile, scalable DEAP actuator system. The actuator system consists of a bi-stable mechanism (a negative-rate bias spring, or NBS) coupled with an out-of-plane dielectric electro-active polymer (DEAP) actuator. The NBS biases the DEAP allowing actuation when the voltage is cycled and is shown to have a major impact on the overall system performance. Particularly the NBS-biased actuator can exhibit up to a fourfold increase in displacement stroke in comparison with conventional linear springs. A non-linear DEAP model was developed and simulations where conducted. The model is validated with experimental data and provides insight into system trends and related parameter optimization.