Energy Harvesting of Dielectric Electroactive Polymer Transducer
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    Abstract:

    As a category of electroactive polymers, dielectric electroactive polymer (DEAP) has been referred to as “artificial muscles” owning to their excellent overall performances including large deformation, high energy density and high speed of response. As a new smart material, dielectric electroactive polymer can be used as a new energy harvesting method to transform mechanical energy into electrical energy when being combined with wind power and water power. The energy harvesting mechanisms and working cycles of dielectric electroactive polymer generator were investigated. Based on the analysis of energy conversion cycle, circular energy conversion unit was implemented to conduct analysis and experiment. The mathematic model of cone dielectric electroactive polymer generator was developed. With the proposed model, the forcestrokes of dielectric electroactive polymer generator in the stretching process and retracting process were determined. Analytical results indicate the generated energy and efficiency increase as the bias voltage and displacement increase in a certain range of bias voltage, while over high electrical field reduces electrical energy and efficiency due to charge leakage. Both analytical results and experimental data illustrate that the stretch displacement and bias voltage are the main factors contribute to electrical energy generation and the efficiency. With the application of multiple transducers, the overall efficiency of the proposed system could increase to above 28%. At the same time, the numerical waves of input torsions become smaller. This paper could provide a strong support for design of dielectric electroactive polymer transducer.

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History
  • Received:May 18,2015
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  • Online: September 10,2015
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