Shamsul Bin Zakaria

High Breakdown-Strength Composites from Liquid Silicone Rubbers

In this paper we investigate the performance of liquid silicone rubbers (LSRs) as dielectric elastomer transducers. Commonly used silicones in this application include room-temperature vulcanisable (RTV) silicone elastomers and composites thereof. Pure LSRs and their composites with commercially available fillers (an anatase TiO2, a core–shell TiO2-SiO2 and a CaCu3Ti4O12 filler) are evaluated with respect to dielectric permittivity, elasticity (Youngs modulus) and electrical breakdown strength. Film formation properties are also evaluated. The best-performing formulations are those with anatase TiO2 nanoparticles, where the highest relative dielectric permittivity of 5.6 is obtained, and with STX801, a core–shell morphology TiO2-SiO2 filler from Evonik, where the highest breakdown strength of 173 V μm−1 is obtained.

The electrical breakdown strength of pre-stretched elastomers, with and without sample volume conservation

In practice, the electrical breakdown strength of dielectric electroactive polymers (DEAPs) determines the upper limit for transduction. During DEAP actuation, the thickness of the elastomer decreases, and thus the electrical field increases and the breakdown process is determined by a coupled electro-mechanical failure mechanism. A thorough understanding of the mechanisms behind the electro-mechanical breakdown process is required for developing reliable transducers. In this study, two experimental configurations were used to determine the stretch dependence of the electrical breakdown strength of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomers. Breakdown strength was determined for samples with and without volume conservation and was found to depend strongly on the stretch ratio and the thickness of the samples. PDMS elastomers are shown to increase breakdown strength by a factor of ~3 when sample thickness decreases from 120 to 30 μm, while the biaxial pre-stretching (λ = 2) of samples leads similarly to an increase in breakdown strength by a factor of ~2.5.

The Electrical Breakdown of Thin Dielectric Elastomers: Thermal Effects

Dielectric elastomers are being developed for use in actuators, sensors and generators to be used in various applications, such as artificial eye lids, pressure sensors and human motion energy generators. In order to obtain maximum efficiency, the devices are operated at high electrical fields. This increases the likelihood for electrical breakdown significantly. Hence, for many applications the performance of the dielectric elastomers is limited by this risk of failure, which is triggered by several factors. Amongst others thermal effects may strongly influence the electrical breakdown strength. In this study, we model the electrothermal breakdown in thin PDMS based dielectric elastomers in order to evaluate the thermal mechanisms behind the electrical failures. The objective is to predict the operation range of PDMS based dielectric elastomers with respect to the temperature at given electric field. We performed numerical analysis with a quasi-steady state approximation to predict thermal runaway of dielectric elastomer films. We also studied experimentally the effect of temperature on dielectric properties of different PDMS dielectric elastomers. Different films with different percentages of silica and permittivity enhancing filler were selected for the measurements. From the modeling based on the fitting of experimental data, it is found that the electrothermal breakdown of the materials is strongly influenced by the increase in both dielectric permittivity and conductivity.

Post Curing as an Effective Means of Ensuring the Long-term Reliability of PDMS Thin Films for Dielectric Elastomer Applications

ABSTRACT Post curing can be used to facilitate volatile removal and thus produce polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films with stable elastic and electrical properties over time. In this study, the effect of post curing was investigated for commercial silicone elastomer thin films as a means of improving long-term elastomer film reliability. The Young’s moduli and electrical breakdown strengths of commercial (silica-reinforced) PDMS elastomer films, with and without additional 35 parts per hundred rubber titanium dioxide (TiO2), were investigated after high-temperature (200°C) post curing for various time spans. The elastomers were found to contain less than 2% of volatiles (significantly higher for TiO2-filled samples), but nevertheless a strong effect from post curing was observed. The young’s moduli as well as the strain-dependent behavior were found to change significantly upon post curing treatment, where Young’s moduli at 5% strain increase with post curing. Furthermore, the determined dielectric breakdown parameters from Weibull analyses showed that greater electrical stability and reliability could be achieved by post curing the PDMS films before usage, and this method therefore paves a way toward more reliable dielectric elastomers. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Filled liquid silicone rubbers: possibilities and challenges

Liquid silicone rubbers (LSRs) have been shown to possess very favorable properties as dielectric electroactive polymers due to their very high breakdown strengths (up to 170 V/μm) combined with their fast response, relatively high tear strength, acceptable Young’s modulus as well as they can be filled with permittivity enhancing fillers. However, LSRs possess large viscosity, especially when additional fillers are added. Therefore both mixing and coating of the required thin films become difficult. The solution so far has been to use solvent to dilute the reaction mixture in order both to ensure better particle dispersion as well as allowing for film formation properties. We show that the mechanical properties of the films as well as the electrical breakdown strength can be affected, and that the control of the amount of solvent throughout the coating process is essential for solvent borne processes. Another problem encountered when adding solvent to the highly filled reaction mixture is the loss of tension in the material upon large deformations. These losses are shown to be irreversible and happen within the first large-strain cycle.