The aerostatic spindle is made up of the structure components and the fluid film. The interaction between them has important influence on the comprehensive performance of the spindle. This paper presents a new design method of aerostatic spindle based on the fluid–structure interaction method. The changes of bearing clearance caused by the structure deformation under high-pressure fluid film are considered, and the static performances of the bearing are obtained. In order to improve the performance of the spindle, the structural parameters of the bearing are optimized. The proposed design method is implemented through a self-developed aerostatic spindle.

Dielectric elastomers have attracted considerable attention both from academia and industry alike over the last two decades due to their superior mechanical properties. In parallel, research on the mechanical properties of dielectrics has been steadily advancing, including the theoretical, experimental, and numerical aspects. It has been recognized that the electromechanical coupling property of dielectric materials can be utilized to drive deformations in functional devices in a more controllable and intelligent manner. This paper reviews recent advances in the theory of dielectrics, with specific attention focused on the theory proposed by Dorfmann and Ogden. Additionally, we provide examples illustrating the application of this theory to analyze the electromechanical deformations and the associated bifurcations in soft dielectrics. We compared the bifurcations in elastic and dielectric materials and found that only compressive bifurcation modes exist in elastic structures, whereas both compressive and tensile modes coexist in dielectric structures. We summarize two proposed ways to suppress and prevent the tensile bifurcations in dielectric materials. We hope that this literature survey will foster further advancements in the field of the electroelastic theory of soft dielectrics.