Electric field-induced surface transformations and experimental dynamic characteristics of dielectric elastomer membranes

Acute and tunable surface transformations of a monolithic structure by application of an electric field have immediate significance for adaptive structures, morphing concepts and optical applications. Dielectric elastomer (DE) membranes are electric field-responsive materials typically employed as large strain electrostatic actuators. In this paper, it is demonstrated that an electric field will generate several symmetric surface shapes analogous to the mode shapes in the classical drumhead or stretched membrane problem. In a previous experimental study, a single surface transformation creating ripples or waves on an initially smooth surface was observed for an electrically excited DE membrane. The unexpected result led to the development of an experimental setup that would facilitate extensive characterization of the dynamic surface transformations of dielectric elastomer membranes. The new results clearly show that the electric field can be used to tune the patterns of the DE surface. Furthermore, the membrane will go through resonance when a periodic electric field is applied if the system conditions are favorable, which has not been observed before now. This presents a unique opportunity to increase the output displacement of DE membranes without electrically overloading the membrane. The experiments show that increasing the size of the chamber onto which the membrane is clamped will increase the peak deformation as well as cause the membrane's resonance peaks to shift and change in number. For DE membranes driven at 1.5 kV, at the smallest chamber volume, the maximum actuation displacement is 81 μm; while at the largest chamber volume, the maximum actuation displacement is 1431 μm. This corresponds to a 1767% increase in maximum pole displacement. The dependence on chamber volume suggests that under dynamic conditions a systems level analysis is needed for DE actuators. The effect of voltage offset as a means of modulating the dynamic deformation response is also reported in this study.     

The electro-mechanical response of highly compliant substrates and thin stiff films with periodic cracks

We present results that describe the mechanical response of highly compliant substrates coated with ultra-thin stiff films, with thickness and elastic moduli differences spanning four orders of magnitude. Dimensional analysis based on shear-lag models of cracked films is used to identify key parameters that control the effective elastic properties of the cracked multi-layer, crack opening displacements, and the steady-state energy release rate for channeling crack formation. Analytical forms that describe multi-layer response in terms of film properties and crack spacing are presented and corroborated with numerical models for linear elastic materials. A key result is that the energy release rate scales with 1/(1 − α), where α is one of the Dundurs’ parameters describing elastic mismatch. The results can also be used to evaluate the performance of electrostrictive actuators comprised of cracked blanket electrodes and elastomer dielectrics. In this scenario, an interesting result is that ultra-thin cracked films can continue to distribute charge, since crack openings may be small enough to allow breakdown in air at typical operating voltages.     

The effective electroelastic property of piezoelectric media with parallel dielectric cracks

Existing studies on the coupled electroelastic behaviour of cracked piezoelectric media have been based mostly on the electrically impermeable and permeable crack models. The current paper presents a study of the effective electroelastic property of piezoelectric media weakened by parallel cracks using a dielectric crack model with the electric boundary condition along the crack surfaces being governed by the opening displacement. The theoretical formulation is obtained using the dilute model of distributed cracks and the solution of a single dielectric crack problem. It is observed that the effective electroelastic property of cracked piezoelectric media is nonlinear and sensitive to loading conditions. Different modes of crack deformation are predicted and discussed. Attention is paid to the transition between electrically permeable and impermeable crack models.     

An interface crack with partially electrically conductive crack faces under antiplane mechanical and in-plane electric loadings

An interface crack in a bimaterial piezoelectric space under the action of antiplane mechanical and in-plane electric loadings is analyzed. One zone of the crack faces is electrically conductive while the other part is electrically permeable. All electro-mechanical values are presented using sectionally-analytic vector-functions and a combined Dirichlet-Riemann boundary value problem is formulated. An exact analytical solution of this problem is obtained. Simple analytical expressions for the shear stress, electric field and also for mechanical displacement jump of the crack faces are derived. These values are also presented graphically along the corresponding parts of the material interface. Singular points of the shear stress, electric field and electric displacement jump are found. Their intensity factors are determined as well. Intensity factors variations with respect to the external electric field and different ratios between the electrically conductive and electrically permeable crack face zones are also demonstrated.     

Coupled solution for anisotropic piezoelectric materials with cracks

The coupled elastic and electric fields for anisotropic piezoelectric materials with electrically permeable cracks are analyzed by using Stroh formula in anisotropic elasticity. It is shown from the solution that the tangent component of the electric field strength and the normal component of the electric displacement along the faces of cracks are all constants, and the electric field intensity and electric displacement have the singularity of type (1/2) at the crack tip. The energy release rate for crack propagation depends on both the stress intensity factor and material constants. The electric field intensity and electric displacement inside electrically permeable cracks are all constants.     

Propagation of instability in dielectric elastomers

When an electric voltage is applied across the thickness of a thin layer of an dielectric elastomer, the layer reduces its thickness and expands its area. This electrically induced deformation can be rapid and large, and is potentially useful as soft actuators in diverse technologies. Recent experimental and theoretical studies have shown that, when the voltage exceeds some critical value, the homogenous deformation of the layer becomes unstable, and the layer deforms into a mixture of thin and thick regions. Subsequently, as more electric charge is applied, the thin regions enlarge at the expense of the thick regions. On the basis of a recently formulated nonlinear field theory, this paper develops a meshfree method to simulate numerically this instability.     

An analytical model for electrode–ceramic interaction in multilayer piezoelectric actuators

The present paper develops an analytical model for multi-electrodes in multi-layered piezoelectric actuators, in which the electrodes are vertical to and terminated at the edges of the medium and electroelastic field concentrations ahead of the electrodes in the multilayer piezoelectric actuators are examined. By considering a representative unit in realistic multilayers, the problem is formulated in terms of electric potential between the electrode tips and results in a system of singular integral equations in which the electric potential is taken as unknown function. Effects are investigated of electrode spacing and piezoelectric coupling on the singular electroelastic fields at the electrode tips, and closed-form expressions are given for the electromechanical field near the electrode tips. Exact solution for un-coupled dielectrics is provided, where no piezoelectric coupling is present. The English text was polished by Yunming Chen.     

A dielectric crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric layer

Considering the dielectric effects inside a crack, the problem of an electrically dielectric crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric layer is addressed in this paper. The energetically consistent crack-face boundary conditions are utilized to analyze the effects of a dielectric of crack interior. Applying the Fourier transform technique, the boundary-value problem is reduced to solving three coupling singular equations. Then a system of non-linear algebraic equations is obtained and the field intensity factors along with the energy release rate are given. Numerical results show the differences of the electric displacement inside a crack, the stress and electric displacement intensity factors and the energy release rate using the permeable, impermeable, semi-permeable and energetically consistent boundary conditions respectively. The effects of the material non-homogeneity, the applied electric field and the discharge field of crack interior on the electrostatic traction acting on the crack faces and the energy release rate are further studied through the energetically consistent boundary conditions.     

Electrical nonlinear anti-plane shear crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric strip

The electrical nonlinear behavior of an anti-plane shear crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric strip is studied by using the strip saturation model within the framework of linear electroelasticity. The analysis is conducted on the electrically unified crack boundary condition with the introduction of the electric crack condition parameter that can describe all the electric crack boundary condition in accordance with the aspect ratio of an ellipsoidal crack and the permittivity inside the crack, in particular, including traditional permeable and impermeable crack boundary conditions. The resulting mixed boundary value problem is analysed and near tip field is obtained by using the integral transform techniques. Numerical results for the normalized five kinds of energy release rates under the small scale electric saturation condition are presented and compared to show the influences of the electric crack condition parameter with the variation of the ellipsoidal crack parameters, electric loads, functionally graded piezoelectric material gradation, crack length, electromechanical coupling coefficient, and crack location. It reveals that there are considerable differences between the results obtained from the traditional electric crack models and those obtained from the current unified crack model.     

Strip electric-magnetic breakdown model in a magnetoelectroelastic medium

Extending the polarization saturation model [Gao et al., 1997. Local and global energy release rates for an electrically yielded crack in a piezoelectric ceramic. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 45, 491-510] and the dielectric breakdown (DB) model [Zhang et al., 2005. The strip dielectric breakdown model. Int. J. Fract. 132, 311-327] in piezoelectric materials, the Strip Electric-Magnetic Breakdown (SEMB) model is proposed for electrically and magnetically impermeable crack in a magnetoelectroelastic medium to study the effect of the nonlinear character of electric field and magnetic field on fracture of magnetoelectroelastic materials. In the SEMB model, the electric field in the strip of the electric breakdown zone ahead of the crack tip is equal to the electric breakdown strength, while the magnetic filed in the strip of the magnetic breakdown zone is equal to the magnetic breakdown strength. By using the extended Stroh formalism and the extended dislocation modeling of a crack, the Griffith crack problem under the electrically and magnetically elastic-plastic condition in a magnetoelectroelastic medium is reduced to a set of dual integral equations. The sizes of the electric breakdown zone and the magnetic breakdown zone, the extended intensity factors and the local J-integral are obtained. The effect of the combined mechanical-electric-magnetic loadings on the local J-integral is studied.     

Theoretical model of crack branching in magnetoelectric thermoelastic materials

Thermomagnetoelectroelastic crack branching of magnetoelectro thermoelastic materials is theoretically investigated based on Stroh formalism and continuous distribution of dislocation approach. The crack face boundary condition is assumed to be fully thermally, electrically and magnetically impermeable. Explicit Green’s functions for the interaction of a crack and a thermomagnetoelectroelastic dislocation (i.e., a thermal dislocation, a mechanical dislocation, an electric dipole and a magnetic dipole located at a same point) are presented. The problem is reduced to two sets of coupled singular integral equations with the thermal dislocation and magnetoelectroelastic dislocation densities along the branched crack line as the unknown variables. As a result, the formulations for the stress, electric displacement and magnetic induction intensity factors and energy release rate at the branched crack tip are expressed in terms of the dislocation density functions and the branch angle. Numerical results are presented to study the effect of applied thermal flux, electric field and magnetic field on the crack propagation path by using the maximum energy release rate criterion.     

各向异性压电材料平面裂纹的耦合场分析

用Stroh方法分析了各向异性压电材料电导通型裂纹问题的耦合场。结果表明,裂纹面上的切向电场强度和法向电位移均为常数,在裂纹尖端有由弹性场的耦事作用产生的奇异电导通裂纹模型中的静电场对裂纹尖端扩展的能量释放率不作贡献。     

The mode III cracks originating from the edge of a circular hole in a piezoelectric solid

A mode III fracture problem of edge cracks originating from a circular hole in an infinite piezoelectric solid is studied based on complex variable method combined with the method of conformal mapping. Explicit and exact expressions for the complex potentials, field intensity factors and energy release rates are presented under the assumption that the surface of the cracks and hole is electrically impermeable. Numerical analysis is then conducted to discuss the influences of crack length and applied mechanical/electric loads on the field intensity factors and energy release rate for one and two edge cracks, respectively. It is found that for the case of a single edge crack, the field intensity factors are greater than those of double edge cracks, and moreover the electric loads can either promote or retard crack growth, depending on the magnitude and direction of the applied electric loads.     

The weight function for cracks in piezoelectrics

The weight function in fracture mechanics is the stress intensity factor at the tip of a crack in an elastic material due to a point load at an arbitrary location in the body containing the crack. For a piezoelectric material, this definition is extended to include the effect of point charges and the presence of an electric displacement intensity factor at the tip of the crack. Thus, the weight function permits the calculation of the crack tip intensity factors for an arbitrary distribution of applied loads and imposed electric charges. In this paper, the weight function for calculating the stress and electric displacement intensity factors for cracks in piezoelectric materials is formulated from Maxwell relationships among the energy release rate, the physical displacements and the electric potential as dependent variables and the applied loads and electric charges as independent variables. These Maxwell relationships arise as a result of an electric enthalpy for the body that can be formulated in terms of the applied loads and imposed electric charges. An electric enthalpy for a body containing an electrically impermeable crack can then be stated that accounts for the presence of loads and charges for a problem that has been solved previously plus the loads and charges associated with an unsolved problem for which the stress and electric displacement intensity factors are to be found. Differentiation of the electric enthalpy twice with respect to the applied loads (or imposed charges) and with respect to the crack length gives rise to Maxwell relationships for the derivative of the crack tip energy release rate with respect to the applied loads (or imposed charges) of the unsolved problem equal to the derivative of the physical displacements (or the electric potential) of the solved problem with respect to the crack length. The Irwin relationship for the crack tip energy release rate in terms of the crack tip intensity factors then allows the intensity factors for the unsolved problem to be formulated, thereby giving the desired weight function. The results are used to derive the weight function for an electrically impermeable Griffith crack in an infinite piezoelectric body, thereby giving the stress intensity factors and the electric displacement intensity factor due to a point load and a point charge anywhere in an infinite piezoelectric body. The use of the weight function to compute the electric displacement factor for an electrically permeable crack is then presented. Explicit results based on a previous analysis are given for a Griffith crack in an infinite body of PZT-5H poled orthogonally to the crack surfaces.     

Phase structure change and ER effect in liquid crystalline polymer/dimethylsiloxane blends

The mechanism of the electrorheological (ER) effect in two types of liquid crystalline polymer (LCP)/dimethylsiloxane (DMS) blends was investigated by rheological measurements and by structure observation under electric field and shear flow. The results show that the phase structures of these immiscible blends can be categorized into slipping (low viscosity) and non-slipping (high viscosity) states. In the non-slipping state, higher viscosity LCP domains connect the electrodes. In the slipping state, on the other hand, LCP domains do not connect the electrodes and the shear is mainly confined in the lower viscosity DMS domains. The ER effect (electrically induced viscosity increase) originates from the electrically induced slipping to non-slipping transition. In one of the blends, the ER effect occurs only at high shear rate, since this blend is in non-slipping state even under no field if the shear rate is low. Received: 29 April 1997 Accepted: 3 November 1997     

Electrically driven cracks in piezoelectric ceramics: experiments and fracture mechanics analysis

Piezoelectric systems like multilayer actuators are susceptible to damage by crack propagation induced by strain incompatibilities. These can arise under electric fields for example between the electroded and external regions. Such incompatibilities have been realised in thin rectangular model specimens from PZT-piezoelectric ceramics with top and bottom electrodes only close to one edge. Under an electric field, controlled crack propagation has been observed in situ in an optical microscope. The crack paths are reproducible with very high accuracy. Small electrode widths lead to straight cracks with two transitions between stable and unstable crack growth regions, while large electrode widths result in curved cracks with four transitions. Fracture mechanics analysis is able to explain the different crack paths. An iteration method is developed to simulate the curved crack propagation also for strong curvature of the crack paths using the finite element method. The computed crack contours exhibit excellent quantitative agreement with the experiment with respect to their shape, the stages of stable and unstable crack propagation and the transitions between them. Finally, also the crack length as a function of the electric field can be predicted.     

Transient response of a cracked piezoelectric strip under arbitrary electro-mechanical impact

By using the well-developed integral transform methodology, the dynamic response of stress and electric displacement around a finite crack in an infinite piezoelectric strip are investigated under arbitrary dynamic anti-plane loads. The dynamic stress intensity factors and electric displacement are obtained analytically. It is shown that the dynamic crack-tip stress and electric field still have a square-root singularity. Numerical computations for the dynamic stress intensity factor show that the electric load has a significant influence on the dynamic response of stress field. The higher the ratio of the crack length to the width of the strip, the higher the peak value of the dynamic stress intensity factor is. On the other hand, the dynamic response of the electric field is determined solely by the applied electric load. The electric field will promote or retard the propagation of the crack depending on the time elapse since the application of the external electro-mechanical loads. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Post-Doctor Science Foundation of China     

An electrically conducting interface crack with a contact zone in a piezoelectric bimaterial

A plane problem for an electrically conducting interface crack in a piezoelectric bimaterial is studied. The bimaterial is polarized in the direction orthogonal to the crack faces and loaded by remote tension and shear forces and an electrical field parallel to the crack faces. All fields are assumed to be independent of the coordinate co-directed with the crack front. Using special presentations of electromechanical quantities via sectionally-analytic functions, a combined Dirichlet–Riemann and Hilbert boundary value problem is formulated and solved analytically. Explicit analytical expressions for the characteristic mechanical and electrical parameters are derived. Also, a contact zone solution is obtained as a particular case. For the determination of the contact zone length, a simple transcendental equation is derived. Stress and electric field intensity factors and, also, the contact zone length are found for various material combinations and different loadings. A significant influence of the electric field on the contact zone length, stress and electric field intensity factors is observed. Electrically permeable conditions in the crack region are considered as well and matching of different crack models has been performed.     

Nonlinear behaviour of interacting dielectric cracks in piezoelectric materials

Existing studies on the fracture of cracked piezoelectric materials have been limited mostly to the electrically impermeable and permeable crack models, which represent the limiting cases of the physical boundary condition along the crack surfaces. This paper presents a study on the electromechanical behaviour of interacting dielectric cracks in piezoelectric materials. The cracks are filled with dielectric media and, as the result, the electric boundary condition along the crack surfaces is governed by the opening displacement of the cracks. The formulation of this nonlinear problem is based on simulating the cracks using distributed dislocations and solving the resulting nonlinear singular integral equations. Multiple deformation modes are observed. A solution technique is developed to determine the desired deformation mode of the interacting cracks. Numerical results are given to show the effect of the interaction between parallel cracks. Attention is paid to the transition between permeable and impermeable models with increasing crack opening.