On the propagation and manipulation of waves in soft electroactive tubes
Gal Shmuel (CalTech), Gal deBotton (BGU)
Mechanics of Phase Transforming and Multifunctional Materials
Wed 9:00 - 10:30
CIT 219
A hollow dielectric elastomer cylinder is considered when subjected to combination of a radial electric field and mechanical loading. Axisymmetric incremental motions are superposed on the determined configuration. By employing a numerical procedure, the coupled governing equations and boundary conditions are satisfied. The fundamental mode in the frequency spectrum is determined for various thicknesses of the tube wall. The dependency on the geometry of the tube, the mechanical pre-stretch and the electric field is examined. It is demonstrated how the propagation of the waves is manipulated by adjusting the electromechanical bias fields. These observations suggest the use of dielectric elastomers in tubular configurations as active isolators or waveguides by modifing the bias electric loading.