Temperature effect on electromechanical properties of polyacrylic dielectric elastomer: an experimental study

The electromechanical properties of dielectric elastomers (DEs) are strongly affected by the environmental factors, such as ambient temperature and humidity. In this paper, by employing the VHB 4910 elastomer, we carry out an experimental investigation on the temperature effect on the electromechanical properties of DEs, including the electromechanical breakdown and voltage-induced deformation. Two kinds of tension modes, i.e. equal-biaxial tension and unidirectional fiber-constrained state, are adopted in the experimental measurements. It is found that both the breakdown voltage and the breakdown electric field of VHB 4910 under equal-biaxial tension reduce gradually with the increasing temperature. For the VHB elastomer under unidirectional fiber-constrained state, the temperature does not show a monotonous effect on the electromechanical properties. Finally, effect of temperature on voltage-induced deformation of VHB 4910 is tested, and the results demonstrate that the electromechanical deformation initially increases and subsequently decreases as the temperature rises.