A Novel Low Bias Voltage Approach to Dielectric Elastomer Based Energy Harvesting
摘要
Dielectric Elastomer Generator (DEG) is a leading transduction technique that uses the phenomenon of variable capacitance to generate electrical energy from different ranges of mechanical motion. The majority of studies carried out to date have usually biased the electrode coated membrane that functions as a variable capacitor using extremely high voltages. This creates inconvenience for the safe application of such devices. The current study is focused on a low bias voltage of 20 V with a conical-shaped DEG using VHB4910 elastomer. The equibiaxial prestretching and conical stretching modes were combined, a low input bias voltage was applied, and the conical displacement was adjusted to maximize electrical energy generation. A cycle of operation could generate 2.03 µJ of electrical energy, which corresponds to 2.64 mJ/kg of energy density using a 50-mm out-of-plane deflection of the central hub. This energy is sufficient for powering modern biosensors and bio-implants.