Actuation capability of a dielectric elastomer balloon actuator

Dielectric elastomers show great promise for soft actuators. As the allowable deformation range of dielectric elastomers is strictly limited by the material failures, the actuation ability of a dielectric elastomer actuator is accordingly bounded. Although the material failures have been well studied, little literature has been released regarding the maximum actuation ability of a dielectric elastomer actuator. Taking a dielectric elastomer balloon as an example, this paper proposes a novel concept of the actuation capability of a dielectric elastomer balloon actuator concerning not only quasi-static states but also dynamic states, analyzes the actuation capability in terms of various operating conditions of the balloon actuator, and thus suggests how to operate the balloon actuator in order to obtain the largest actuation range. This new concept offers a significant guidance for applications of the balloon actuator.