Abstract
Viscoelasticity dissipates the mechanical energy, leading to a reduction of energy conversion efficiency in both dielectric elastomer (DE) actuators and generators. By measuring the uniaxial tension-recovery experiments of very-high-bond-based DE, this article quantitatively presents the effect of viscoelasticity on energy harvesting performance of DE generators. By employing a DE strip energy harvester with constant surface charge, an analytical model is established to calculate the generated electrical energy and energy conversion efficiency. Numerical results demonstrate that viscoelasticity has a significant influence on DE energy harvesting performance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 162-170 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 3 Jul 2015 |
Keywords
- Dielectric elastomer
- Energy harvesting
- Viscoelasticity