A series of isometric,radially expanding tubular units,made of dielectric elastomer with compliant electrodes,constitute a soft linear peristaltic pump with distributed actuation for transport of incompressible fluids.Based on the Gent strain energy model,this paper theoretically analyzes the homogeneous large deformation of the peristaltic unit.We discuss the effects of axial prestretch on the actuation of the actuator.We then predict the maximum actuation strain of this actuator which is limited by dielectric strength of the polymer.The results presented here extend the previous study based on linear elasticity,and can predict the electromechanical behaviors of the novel actuator at large deformations.
Abstract Hydrogel can swell to many times of its dry volume, resulting in large deformation which is vital for its function. The swelling process is regulated by many physical and chemical mechanisms, and can, to some extent, be fairly described by the poroelasticity theory. Implementation of the poroelastieity theory in the framework of finite element method would aid the design and optimization of hydrogel-based soft devices. Choosing chemical potential and displacement as two field variables, we present the implementation of poroelastieity tailored for hydrogel swelling dynamics, detail the normalization of physical parameters and the treatment of boundary conditions. Several examples are presented to demonstrate the feasibility and correctness of the proposed strategy.
