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S. Michel
Department of Engineering Sciences, Empa–Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland

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Short Biography

Dr. Silvain Michel graduated in mechanical engineering at ETH - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in 1989. After ten years as a fatigue and damage tolerance specialist in the aerospace industry, he joined Empa - Materials Science and Technology in 2000. Between 2003 and 2008, he was head of the Electro Active Polymer research group within the Mechanical Systems Engineering lab at Empa. Since 2009, he has worked as a senior scientist, responsible for various projects on smart materials and sustainable mechanical systems.

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Journal article
Published: 10 April 2021 in Polymers
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Soft robotics and flexible electronics are rising in popularity and can be used in many applications. However, there is still a need for processing routes that allow the upscaling in production for functional soft robotic parts in an industrial scale. In this study, injection molding of liquid silicone is suggested as a fabrication method for sensorized robotic skin based on sensor fiber composites. Sensor fibers based on thermoplastic elastomers with two different shore hardness (50A and 70A) are combined with different silicone materials. A mathematical model is used to predict the mechanical load transfer from the silicone matrix to the fiber and shows that the matrix of the lowest shore hardness should not be combined with the stiffer fiber. The sensor fiber composites are fixed on a 3D printed robotic finger. The sensorized robotic skin based on the composite with the 50A fiber in combination with pre-straining gives good sensor performance as well as a large elasticity. It is proposed that a miss-match in the mechanical properties between fiber sensor and matrix should be avoided in order to achieve low drift and relaxation. These findings can be used as guidelines for material selection for future sensor integrated soft robotic systems.

ACS Style

Antonia Georgopoulou; Silvain Michel; Frank Clemens. Sensorized Robotic Skin Based on Piezoresistive Sensor Fiber Composites Produced with Injection Molding of Liquid Silicone. Polymers 2021, 13, 1226 .

AMA Style

Antonia Georgopoulou, Silvain Michel, Frank Clemens. Sensorized Robotic Skin Based on Piezoresistive Sensor Fiber Composites Produced with Injection Molding of Liquid Silicone. Polymers. 2021; 13 (8):1226.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Antonia Georgopoulou; Silvain Michel; Frank Clemens. 2021. "Sensorized Robotic Skin Based on Piezoresistive Sensor Fiber Composites Produced with Injection Molding of Liquid Silicone." Polymers 13, no. 8: 1226.

Journal article
Published: 12 October 2017 in Veterinary and Comparative Orthopaedics and Traumatology
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Summary Objectives: To evaluate the damage inflicted by an unshod hoof and by the various horseshoe materials (steel, aluminium and polyurethane) on the long bones of horses after a simulated kick. Methods: Sixty-four equine radii and tibiae were evaluated using a drop impact test setup. An impactor with a steel, aluminium, polyurethane, or hoof horn head was dropped onto prepared bones. An impactor velocity of 8 m/s was initially used with all four materials and then testing was repeated with a velocity of 12 m/s with the polyurethane and hoof horn heads. The impact process was analysed using a high-speed camera, and physical parameters, including peak contact force and impact duration, were calculated. Results: At 8 m/s, the probability of a fracture was 75% for steel and 81% for aluminium, whereas polyurethane and hoof horn did not damage the bones. At 12 m/s, the probability of a fracture was 25% for polyurethane and 12.5% for hoof horn. The peak contact force and impact duration differed significantly between ‘hard materials’ (aluminium and steel) and ‘soft materials’ (polyurethane and hoof horn). Clinical significance: The observed bone injuries were similar to those seen in analogous experimental studies carried out previously and comparable to clinical fracture cases suggesting that the simulated kick was realistic. The probability of fracture was significantly higher for steel and aluminium than for polyurethane and hoof horn, which suggests that the horseshoe material has a significant influence on the risk of injury for humans or horses kicked by a horse. Supplementary Material for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.3415/VCOT-17-01-0003 ORCID iD MAJ: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2142-2942

ACS Style

Miriam Sprick; Anton Fürst; Fabio Baschnagel; Silvain Michel; Gabor Piskoty; Sonja Hartnack; Michelle A. Jackson. The influence of aluminium, steel and polyurethane shoeing systems and of the unshod hoof on the injury risk of a horse kick. Veterinary and Comparative Orthopaedics and Traumatology 2017, 30, 339 -345.

AMA Style

Miriam Sprick, Anton Fürst, Fabio Baschnagel, Silvain Michel, Gabor Piskoty, Sonja Hartnack, Michelle A. Jackson. The influence of aluminium, steel and polyurethane shoeing systems and of the unshod hoof on the injury risk of a horse kick. Veterinary and Comparative Orthopaedics and Traumatology. 2017; 30 (05):339-345.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Miriam Sprick; Anton Fürst; Fabio Baschnagel; Silvain Michel; Gabor Piskoty; Sonja Hartnack; Michelle A. Jackson. 2017. "The influence of aluminium, steel and polyurethane shoeing systems and of the unshod hoof on the injury risk of a horse kick." Veterinary and Comparative Orthopaedics and Traumatology 30, no. 05: 339-345.

Journal article
Published: 01 October 2015 in Engineering Failure Analysis
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ACS Style

G. Piskoty; Silvain Michel; S. Valet; M. Koster; M. Sauder; H.J. Schindler. Non-intuitive fracture pattern of a failed crane-hanger: A fracture mechanics-based explanation. Engineering Failure Analysis 2015, 56, 307 -319.

AMA Style

G. Piskoty, Silvain Michel, S. Valet, M. Koster, M. Sauder, H.J. Schindler. Non-intuitive fracture pattern of a failed crane-hanger: A fracture mechanics-based explanation. Engineering Failure Analysis. 2015; 56 ():307-319.

Chicago/Turabian Style

G. Piskoty; Silvain Michel; S. Valet; M. Koster; M. Sauder; H.J. Schindler. 2015. "Non-intuitive fracture pattern of a failed crane-hanger: A fracture mechanics-based explanation." Engineering Failure Analysis 56, no. : 307-319.

Journal article
Published: 11 September 2015 in Smart Materials and Structures
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Dielectric elastomer transducers consist of thin electrically insulating elastomeric membranes coated on both sides with compliant electrodes. They are a promising electromechanically active polymer technology that may be used for actuators, strain sensors, and electrical generators that harvest mechanical energy. The rapid development of this field calls for the first standards, collecting guidelines on how to assess and compare the performance of materials and devices. This paper addresses this need, presenting standardized methods for material characterisation, device testing and performance measurement. These proposed standards are intended to have a general scope and a broad applicability to different material types and device configurations. Nevertheless, they also intentionally exclude some aspects where knowledge and/or consensus in the literature were deemed to be insufficient. This is a sign of a young and vital field, whose research development is expected to benefit from this effort towards standardisation.

ACS Style

Federico Carpi; Iain A Anderson; Siegfried Bauer; Gabriele Frediani; Giuseppe Gallone; Massimiliano Gei; Christian Graaf; Claire Jean-Mistral; William Kaal; Guggi Kofod; Matthias Kollosche; Roy D Kornbluh; Benny Lassen; Marc Matysek; Silvain Michel; Stephan Nowak; Benjamin O’Brien; Qibing Pei; Ronald E Pelrine; Björn Rechenbach; Samuel Rosset; Herbert Shea. Standards for dielectric elastomer transducers. Smart Materials and Structures 2015, 24, 105025 .

AMA Style

Federico Carpi, Iain A Anderson, Siegfried Bauer, Gabriele Frediani, Giuseppe Gallone, Massimiliano Gei, Christian Graaf, Claire Jean-Mistral, William Kaal, Guggi Kofod, Matthias Kollosche, Roy D Kornbluh, Benny Lassen, Marc Matysek, Silvain Michel, Stephan Nowak, Benjamin O’Brien, Qibing Pei, Ronald E Pelrine, Björn Rechenbach, Samuel Rosset, Herbert Shea. Standards for dielectric elastomer transducers. Smart Materials and Structures. 2015; 24 (10):105025.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Federico Carpi; Iain A Anderson; Siegfried Bauer; Gabriele Frediani; Giuseppe Gallone; Massimiliano Gei; Christian Graaf; Claire Jean-Mistral; William Kaal; Guggi Kofod; Matthias Kollosche; Roy D Kornbluh; Benny Lassen; Marc Matysek; Silvain Michel; Stephan Nowak; Benjamin O’Brien; Qibing Pei; Ronald E Pelrine; Björn Rechenbach; Samuel Rosset; Herbert Shea. 2015. "Standards for dielectric elastomer transducers." Smart Materials and Structures 24, no. 10: 105025.

Journal article
Published: 10 June 2015 in Sensors and Actuators A: Physical
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Dielectric elastomers, also known as artificial muscles have produced many biomimetic robots. One advantage is their ability to provide feedback through capacitance. However when the sensing frequency is too high, the measured capacitance can underestimate the true value. In this paper, the measured capacitance of dielectric elastomer stacked and rolled configurations were shown to reduce with increasing sensing frequency. A transmission line electrical model linked this to the result of high interconnect and sheet resistances of the electrodes. A design methodology to help determine the working limits of sensing frequency is presented.

ACS Style

Daniel Xu; Silvain Michel; Thomas McKay; Benjamin O’Brien; Todd Gisby; Iain Anderson. Sensing frequency design for capacitance feedback of dielectric elastomers. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical 2015, 232, 195 -201.

AMA Style

Daniel Xu, Silvain Michel, Thomas McKay, Benjamin O’Brien, Todd Gisby, Iain Anderson. Sensing frequency design for capacitance feedback of dielectric elastomers. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical. 2015; 232 ():195-201.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Daniel Xu; Silvain Michel; Thomas McKay; Benjamin O’Brien; Todd Gisby; Iain Anderson. 2015. "Sensing frequency design for capacitance feedback of dielectric elastomers." Sensors and Actuators A: Physical 232, no. : 195-201.

Journal article
Published: 27 March 2015 in Materials and Structures
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Investigations on the fatigue strength of steel reinforcement bars (rebars) mainly involves fatigue tests with hot rolled (HR) and cold worked (CW) steels. However, in the last few decades, HR and CW rebars were replaced by quenched and self-tempered (QST) rebars with hardened surface layer. There still remains a lack of research on fatigue strength of QST rebars especially in the very high cycle domain i.e., number of stress cycles surpassing 5 million. This study is part of a further detailed investigation on the fatigue behaviour of HR, CW and QST rebars in the very high cycle domain. It aims to investigate the fatigue performance of QST rebars axially tested at number of stress cycles in the range of 106–108. A preliminary study of the gripping method is followed by fatigue test results including non-destructive inspection of the rebar surface and fractographic analyses. The rebar surface is examined with liquid penetrant to reveal fatigue crack location and size in specific frequency interval monitored during the tests. Fractured surface analyses are performed by scanning electron microscopy to detect the location from where fatigue cracks initiate. Cross sectional area reduction resulting from fatigue crack propagation is also determined. Fractographic investigations are compared with the fractured surfaces of HR, CW and QST rebars from the literature.

ACS Style

Marina Rocha; Silvain Michel; Eugen Brühwiler; Alain Claude Nussbaumer. Very high cycle fatigue tests of quenched and self-tempered steel reinforcement bars. Materials and Structures 2015, 49, 1723 -1732.

AMA Style

Marina Rocha, Silvain Michel, Eugen Brühwiler, Alain Claude Nussbaumer. Very high cycle fatigue tests of quenched and self-tempered steel reinforcement bars. Materials and Structures. 2015; 49 (5):1723-1732.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marina Rocha; Silvain Michel; Eugen Brühwiler; Alain Claude Nussbaumer. 2015. "Very high cycle fatigue tests of quenched and self-tempered steel reinforcement bars." Materials and Structures 49, no. 5: 1723-1732.

Department
Published: 19 March 2015 in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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This study investigated the particle and fiber release from two carbon fiber reinforced polymer cables that underwent high-energy tensile tests until rupture. The failing event was the source of a large amount of dust whereof a part was suspected to be containing possibly respirable fibers that could cause adverse health effects. The released fibers were suspected to migrate through small openings to the experiment control room and also to an adjacent machine hall where workers were active. To investigate the fiber release and exposure risk of the affected workers, the generated particles were measured with aerosol devices to obtain the particle size and particle concentrations. Furthermore, particles were collected on filter samples to investigate the particle shape and the fiber concentration. Three situations were monitored for the control room and the machine hall: the background concentrations, the impact of the cable failure, and the venting of the exposed rooms afterward. The results showed four important findings: The cable failure caused the release of respirable fibers with diameters below 3 μm and an average length of 13.9 μm; the released particles did migrate to the control room and to the machine hall; the measured peak fiber concentration of 0.76 fibers/cm(3) and the overall fiber concentration of 0.07 fibers/cm(3) in the control room were below the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for fibers without indication of carcinogenicity; and the venting of the rooms was fast and effective. Even though respirable fibers were released, the low fiber concentration and effective venting indicated that the suspected health risks from the experiment on the affected workers was low. However, the effect of long-term exposure is not known therefore additional control measures are recommended.

ACS Style

Lukas Schlagenhauf; Yu-Ying Kuo; Silvain Michel; Giovanni Terrasi; Jing Wang. Exposure Assessment of a High-energy Tensile Test With Large Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Cables. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 2015, 12, D178 -D183.

AMA Style

Lukas Schlagenhauf, Yu-Ying Kuo, Silvain Michel, Giovanni Terrasi, Jing Wang. Exposure Assessment of a High-energy Tensile Test With Large Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Cables. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. 2015; 12 (8):D178-D183.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lukas Schlagenhauf; Yu-Ying Kuo; Silvain Michel; Giovanni Terrasi; Jing Wang. 2015. "Exposure Assessment of a High-energy Tensile Test With Large Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Cables." Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 12, no. 8: D178-D183.

Conference paper
Published: 08 March 2014 in SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring
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Hand motion is one of our most expressive abilities. By measuring our interactions with everyday objects, we can create smarter artificial intelligence that can learn and adapt from our behaviours and patterns. One way to achieve this is to apply wearable dielectric elastomer strain sensors directly onto the hand. Applications such as this require fast, efficient and scalable sensing electronics. Most capacitive sensing methods use an analogue sensing signal and a backend processor to calculate capacitance. This not only reduces scalability and speed of feedback but also increases the complexity of the sensing circuitry. A capacitive sensing method that uses a DC sensing signal and continuous tracking of charge is presented. The method is simple and efficient, allowing large numbers of dielectric elastomer sensors to be measured simulatenously.

ACS Style

Daniel Xu; Thomas G. McKay; Silvain Michel; Iain A. Anderson. Enabling large scale capacitive sensing for dielectric elastomers. SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring 2014, 9056, 90561A .

AMA Style

Daniel Xu, Thomas G. McKay, Silvain Michel, Iain A. Anderson. Enabling large scale capacitive sensing for dielectric elastomers. SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring. 2014; 9056 ():90561A.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Daniel Xu; Thomas G. McKay; Silvain Michel; Iain A. Anderson. 2014. "Enabling large scale capacitive sensing for dielectric elastomers." SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring 9056, no. : 90561A.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2014 in Pferdeheilkunde Equine Medicine
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ACS Style

Silvain Michel; G Piskoty; A Schmidlin; A Fürst. Bending and torsional stiffness measurements of equine radii and tibiae. Pferdeheilkunde Equine Medicine 2014, 30, 577 -584.

AMA Style

Silvain Michel, G Piskoty, A Schmidlin, A Fürst. Bending and torsional stiffness measurements of equine radii and tibiae. Pferdeheilkunde Equine Medicine. 2014; 30 (5):577-584.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Silvain Michel; G Piskoty; A Schmidlin; A Fürst. 2014. "Bending and torsional stiffness measurements of equine radii and tibiae." Pferdeheilkunde Equine Medicine 30, no. 5: 577-584.

Journal article
Published: 30 April 2013 in Engineering Failure Analysis
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An accident of a passenger ship happened during a docking manoeuvre on a lake in Switzerland. After a regular mooring manoeuvre was completed, the ship was exposed to a wind gust pushing the ship away from the wharf. In that moment the mooring rope ruptured and hit the head of a child. An investigation was commissioned by the federal authority to answer several questions related to the accident. It had to be clarified whether the used rope could fail without being pre-damaged and if the failure could have been prevented by the use of a thicker rope. In addition, the influence of the wind exposure on the loading of the rope should be quantified. The acceleration of the ship by a wind gust was simulated by means of analytical and numerical analyses. Hereby the main goal was to quantify the drag due to water motion. The analysis showed that inertia effects of the water flow around the ship body (motion) have to be taken into account and can be described by an additional hydrodynamic mass which has to be added to the deadweight of the ship. Through the investigation it could be shown that rope failure was possible without a pre-damage of the rope. It was also shown that the use of a thicker rope would have led to a dynamic load condition that is even more critical than for the use of a thinner rope due to its larger stiffness.

ACS Style

S. Valet; G. Piskoty; Silvain Michel; Ch. Affolter; M. Beer. Accident caused by dynamic overloading of a ship mooring rope. Engineering Failure Analysis 2013, 35, 439 -453.

AMA Style

S. Valet, G. Piskoty, Silvain Michel, Ch. Affolter, M. Beer. Accident caused by dynamic overloading of a ship mooring rope. Engineering Failure Analysis. 2013; 35 ():439-453.

Chicago/Turabian Style

S. Valet; G. Piskoty; Silvain Michel; Ch. Affolter; M. Beer. 2013. "Accident caused by dynamic overloading of a ship mooring rope." Engineering Failure Analysis 35, no. : 439-453.

Journal article
Published: 20 March 2012 in Equine Veterinary Journal
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There are no detailed studies describing the resistance of equine tibiae and radii to side impact loads, such as a horse kick and a better understanding of the general long bone impact behavioural model is required. To quantify the typical impact energy required to fracture or fissure an equine long bone, as well as to determine the range and time course of the impact force under conditions similar to that of a horse kick. Seventy-two equine tibiae and radii were investigated using a drop impact tester. The prepared bones were preloaded with an axial force of 2.5 kN and were then hit in the middle of the medial side. The impact velocity of the metal impactor, weighting 2 kg, was varied within the range of 6-11 m/s. The impact process was captured with a high-speed camera from the craniomedial side of the bone. The videos were used both for slow-motion observation of the process and for quantifying physical parameters, such as peak force via offline video tracking and subsequent numerical derivation of the 'position vs. time' function for the impactor. The macroscopic appearance of the resultant bone injuries was found to be similar to those produced by authentic horse kicks, indicating a successful simulation of the real load case. The impact behaviours of tibiae and radii do not differ considerably in terms of the investigated general characteristics. Peak force occurred between 0.15-0.30 ms after the start of the impact. The maximum contact force correlated with the 1.45-power of the impact velocity if no fracture occurred (F(max) ≈ 0.926 · v(i) (1.45) ). Peak force scatter was considerably larger within the fractured sub-group compared with fissured bones. The peak force for fracture tended to lie below the aforementioned function, within the range of F(max) = 11-23 kN ('fracture load'). The impact energy required to fracture a bone varied from 40-90 J. The video-based measuring method allowed quantifying of the most relevant physical parameters, such as contact force and energy balance. The results obtained should help with the development of bone implants and guards, supporting theoretical studies, and in the evaluation of bone injuries.

ACS Style

G. Piskoty; S. Jäggin; Silvain Michel; B. Weisse; G. P. Terrasi; A. Fürst. Resistance of equine tibiae and radii to side impact loads. Equine Veterinary Journal 2012, 44, 714 -720.

AMA Style

G. Piskoty, S. Jäggin, Silvain Michel, B. Weisse, G. P. Terrasi, A. Fürst. Resistance of equine tibiae and radii to side impact loads. Equine Veterinary Journal. 2012; 44 (6):714-720.

Chicago/Turabian Style

G. Piskoty; S. Jäggin; Silvain Michel; B. Weisse; G. P. Terrasi; A. Fürst. 2012. "Resistance of equine tibiae and radii to side impact loads." Equine Veterinary Journal 44, no. 6: 714-720.

Journals
Published: 01 January 2012 in Journal of Materials Chemistry
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A conductive, printable and stretchable composite based on 20 wt% reduced graphite nanoplatelets in silicone to be used as the electrode in dielectric elastomer actuators was developed. It has a sheet resistance of 0.1 kΩ −1 and a low modulus of elasticity. Additionally, it is able to self-heal the actuator after a breakdown and thus increases significantly its lifetime and reliability. Such an actuator can be operated repeatedly and reversibly at voltages below and above the voltage of the first breakdown. The actuator can suffer many breakdowns and is able to self-heal again and again without loss of performance.

ACS Style

Silvain Michel; Bryan T. T. Chu; Sascha Grimm; Frank A. Nüesch; Andreas Borgschulte; Dorina Opris. Self-healing electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators. Journal of Materials Chemistry 2012, 22, 20736 -20741.

AMA Style

Silvain Michel, Bryan T. T. Chu, Sascha Grimm, Frank A. Nüesch, Andreas Borgschulte, Dorina Opris. Self-healing electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators. Journal of Materials Chemistry. 2012; 22 (38):20736-20741.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Silvain Michel; Bryan T. T. Chu; Sascha Grimm; Frank A. Nüesch; Andreas Borgschulte; Dorina Opris. 2012. "Self-healing electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators." Journal of Materials Chemistry 22, no. 38: 20736-20741.

Journal article
Published: 31 May 2011 in Smart Materials and Structures
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ACS Style

Carme Jordi; A Schmidt; G Kovacs; Silvain Michel; P Ermanni. Performance evaluation of cutting-edge dielectric elastomers for large-scale actuator applications. Smart Materials and Structures 2011, 20, 1 .

AMA Style

Carme Jordi, A Schmidt, G Kovacs, Silvain Michel, P Ermanni. Performance evaluation of cutting-edge dielectric elastomers for large-scale actuator applications. Smart Materials and Structures. 2011; 20 (7):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Carme Jordi; A Schmidt; G Kovacs; Silvain Michel; P Ermanni. 2011. "Performance evaluation of cutting-edge dielectric elastomers for large-scale actuator applications." Smart Materials and Structures 20, no. 7: 1.

Journal article
Published: 30 June 2010 in Sensors and Actuators A: Physical
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One of the great advantages of dielectric elastomers (DE) is their scalability. This study investigates the influence of size on their performance and the applicability of theory and established models on large-scale actuators. The testing is based on an active hinge configuration made with planar dielectric elastomer actuators as described by Lochmatter in 2007 [16]. The actuators are scaled to five times the size of the small hinge which results in planar membrane actuators of 0.95 × 0.25 m. Theoretical aspects of the up-scaling are discussed. The issue of scaling in design and manufacturing of actuators is addressed. A planar test rig for agonist-antagonist activation, comparable to the hinge-configuration, was set up and the actuators were experimentally characterised in terms of strain (deflection angle), blocking force (moment) and input energy. The behaviour of the large actuators could be predicted accurately with an Arruda-Boyce model and they scale according to theory.

ACS Style

C. Jordi; S. Michel; G. Kovacs; P. Ermanni. Scaling of planar dielectric elastomer actuators in an agonist-antagonist configuration. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical 2010, 161, 182 -190.

AMA Style

C. Jordi, S. Michel, G. Kovacs, P. Ermanni. Scaling of planar dielectric elastomer actuators in an agonist-antagonist configuration. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical. 2010; 161 (1-2):182-190.

Chicago/Turabian Style

C. Jordi; S. Michel; G. Kovacs; P. Ermanni. 2010. "Scaling of planar dielectric elastomer actuators in an agonist-antagonist configuration." Sensors and Actuators A: Physical 161, no. 1-2: 182-190.

Journal article
Published: 24 May 2010 in Bioinspiration & Biomimetics
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The goal of our project is to mimic fish-like movement in air, propelling an airship by undulating its hull and a caudal fin. The activation of the fish-like body in air is realized by dielectric elastomers. These actuators are quite unique for their soft light-weight membrane structure and they are therefore very appropriate to the application on inflated structures. The principles of biomimetics for the structural design and movement are discussed and the conception and design of the airship is described. Various development tests, including wind tunnel testing and flight trials, were performed and the results obtained are presented. It can be shown that an 8 m model airship can be propelled in a fish-like manner in air and that the propulsion can be drastically improved by undulating the body as well as the caudal fin contrary to propulsion with only the caudal fin.

ACS Style

C Jordi; Silvain Michel; E Fink. Fish-like propulsion of an airship with planar membrane dielectric elastomer actuators. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics 2010, 5, 026007 .

AMA Style

C Jordi, Silvain Michel, E Fink. Fish-like propulsion of an airship with planar membrane dielectric elastomer actuators. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics. 2010; 5 (2):026007.

Chicago/Turabian Style

C Jordi; Silvain Michel; E Fink. 2010. "Fish-like propulsion of an airship with planar membrane dielectric elastomer actuators." Bioinspiration & Biomimetics 5, no. 2: 026007.

Conference paper
Published: 25 March 2010 in SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring
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One of the great advantages of dielectric elastomers (DE) is their scalability. Large planar DE are quite unique in the world of actuators. An interesting application of such actuators is the activation of inflatable structures. As research platform a model airship of 8 m in length was constructed that can move its body and tail fin in a fish-like manner. Unlike the propulsion with propellers, the fish-like movement is silent and the airflow around the airship is not disturbed. The bending actuation of the helium-filled hull is realized with planar two-layered DE of 1.6 m2 on either side. The tail fin is moved by four-layer planar DE of 0.3 m2 on either side. A design for actuators of such dimensions was developed and the actuators were characterized in terms of their performance.

ACS Style

C. Jordi; Silvain Michel; C. Dürager; A. Bormann; C. Gebhardt; G. Kovacs. Large planar dielectric elastomer actuators for fish-like propulsion of an airship. SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring 2010, 764223 -764223-12.

AMA Style

C. Jordi, Silvain Michel, C. Dürager, A. Bormann, C. Gebhardt, G. Kovacs. Large planar dielectric elastomer actuators for fish-like propulsion of an airship. SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring. 2010; ():764223-764223-12.

Chicago/Turabian Style

C. Jordi; Silvain Michel; C. Dürager; A. Bormann; C. Gebhardt; G. Kovacs. 2010. "Large planar dielectric elastomer actuators for fish-like propulsion of an airship." SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring , no. : 764223-764223-12.

Journal article
Published: 18 December 2009 in Polymer International
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Soft elastomers, mostly silicones and acrylics, are interesting candidates as dielectric materials in electroactive polymer actuator technology. Generally, characteristics like large strain, high stress, high energy density, good efficiency and high response speed are required for actuator applications. However, some of these material properties may be contradictory. For this reason a comparison between Dow Corning silicone and 3M acrylic elastomers was made based on a set of six electromechanical tests for actuator applications. The silicone elastomer shows a fast electromechanical response (3 s) with good reproducibility and the dissipated work is negligible and not frequency dependent. It also shows a stable mechanical behaviour over a wide temperature range. In contrast, the acrylic elastomer shows a slow electromechanical response with poor reproducibility. The dissipated work of the acrylic elastomer is significant: a strong frequency and temperature dependency of the dissipated work is observed for this material. The Dow Corning silicone (DC 3481) is a better material for many applications, where activation strains of less than 10% are sufficient. However, in applications where higher strains are required, it might be obligatory to use acrylic elastomers, because only these have the potential for use with activation strains beyond 10%. The electrical activation of a circular specimen is most useful in order to evaluate a material as a dielectric in electroactive polymer actuators. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry

ACS Style

Silvain Michel; Xuequn Q Zhang; Michael Wissler; Christiane Löwe; Gabor Kovacs. A comparison between silicone and acrylic elastomers as dielectric materials in electroactive polymer actuators. Polymer International 2009, 59, 391 -399.

AMA Style

Silvain Michel, Xuequn Q Zhang, Michael Wissler, Christiane Löwe, Gabor Kovacs. A comparison between silicone and acrylic elastomers as dielectric materials in electroactive polymer actuators. Polymer International. 2009; 59 (3):391-399.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Silvain Michel; Xuequn Q Zhang; Michael Wissler; Christiane Löwe; Gabor Kovacs. 2009. "A comparison between silicone and acrylic elastomers as dielectric materials in electroactive polymer actuators." Polymer International 59, no. 3: 391-399.

Journal article
Published: 31 October 2009 in Sensors and Actuators A: Physical
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ACS Style

G. Kovacs; L. Düring; Silvain Michel; Giovanni Terrasi. Stacked dielectric elastomer actuator for tensile force transmission. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical 2009, 155, 299 -307.

AMA Style

G. Kovacs, L. Düring, Silvain Michel, Giovanni Terrasi. Stacked dielectric elastomer actuator for tensile force transmission. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical. 2009; 155 (2):299-307.

Chicago/Turabian Style

G. Kovacs; L. Düring; Silvain Michel; Giovanni Terrasi. 2009. "Stacked dielectric elastomer actuator for tensile force transmission." Sensors and Actuators A: Physical 155, no. 2: 299-307.

Conference paper
Published: 27 March 2008 in The 15th International Symposium on: Smart Structures and Materials & Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring
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The rolled actuator represents a design where the pre-stretched EAP film is wrapped many times around a spring core in order to form a multilayer actuator system with unidirectional actuation. The freestanding rolled configuration enables the use of the DE film for muscle like linear actuators with a broad application potential. The stress state of the pre-strained acrylic film in the rolled configuration and the required stiff core can cause several serious problems concerning lifetime, size and efficiency of the actuator. In order to obtain an acceptable specific actuator performance and lifetime the pre-stretching stress has to be essentially reduced or even eliminated. This can be achieved by the interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) process newly developed at the UCLA. Thereby a trifunctional methacrylate monomers is introduced into the highly pre-strained acrylic films and subsequently curing the monomers to form an interpenetrating elastomeric network. The as obtained interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) can effectively support the pre-strain of the acrylic film and consequently eliminate the need for external pre-strain-supporting structures. In this study a new rolled actuator design is presented based on the IPN post treated VHB material. Due to the stress free state of the wrapped film no spring core is necessary. As a result a significantly longer lifetime and better specific volume efficiency of the actuator has been achieved at lower unidirectional elongation when activated. Introductorily, the specific problems on conventional rolled actuators are discussed and the aims for core free rolled actuators are specified. Then some structural design parameters are addressed in order to achieve a slight shape and reliable working principle. In the main part of the study the manufacturing process of the actuators and some measurement results and experiences are discussed in detail.

ACS Style

Gábor Kovács; Soon Mok Ha; Silvain Michel; Ron Pelrine; Qibing Pei. Study on core free rolled actuator based on soft dielectric EAP. The 15th International Symposium on: Smart Structures and Materials & Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring 2008, 69270X -69270X-15.

AMA Style

Gábor Kovács, Soon Mok Ha, Silvain Michel, Ron Pelrine, Qibing Pei. Study on core free rolled actuator based on soft dielectric EAP. The 15th International Symposium on: Smart Structures and Materials & Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring. 2008; ():69270X-69270X-15.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gábor Kovács; Soon Mok Ha; Silvain Michel; Ron Pelrine; Qibing Pei. 2008. "Study on core free rolled actuator based on soft dielectric EAP." The 15th International Symposium on: Smart Structures and Materials & Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring , no. : 69270X-69270X-15.

Proceedings article
Published: 27 March 2008 in The 15th International Symposium on: Smart Structures and Materials & Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring
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After having successfully integrated Dielectric Elastomers (DE) in a cross tail for flight control, a novel biologically inspired propulsion system based on DE is envisaged. The basic idea is to mimic a fish body motion by deforming a) the envelope of the rear lifting body and b) flapping an aft-tail. In both cases, planar DEs are used, either fully integrated in the envelope (for a) and/or arranged as an active hinge (for b). In a theoretical study the specifications of a steady-state horizontal indoor flight of 1 m/s were defined. In an experimental work the concept of an active hull element, which consists of a balloon hull material and several layers of DE actuators was verified. The specific boundary conditions of a slightly pressurized elliptical membrane body were simulated in a biaxial test. It could be shown, that the necessary active strains to reach the specified body deformations were reached. In a second study an aero-elastic fin was designed. Based on fluid-dynamic similarity principles the size, shape and stiffness of the fin were determined and tested in preliminary flight test with a three meter long blimp. The main goal of 1 m/s flight velocity could be shown.© (2008) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

ACS Style

Silvain Michel; Alex Bormann; Christa Jordi; Erick Fink. Feasibility studies for a bionic propulsion system of a blimp based on dielectric elastomers. The 15th International Symposium on: Smart Structures and Materials & Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring 2008, 6927, 69270 -69270.

AMA Style

Silvain Michel, Alex Bormann, Christa Jordi, Erick Fink. Feasibility studies for a bionic propulsion system of a blimp based on dielectric elastomers. The 15th International Symposium on: Smart Structures and Materials & Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring. 2008; 6927 ():69270-69270.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Silvain Michel; Alex Bormann; Christa Jordi; Erick Fink. 2008. "Feasibility studies for a bionic propulsion system of a blimp based on dielectric elastomers." The 15th International Symposium on: Smart Structures and Materials & Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring 6927, no. : 69270-69270.