Rate dependent stress-stretch relation of dielectric elastomers subjected to pure shear like loading and electric field

The performance of dielectric elastomer (DE) transducers is significantly affected by viscoelastic relaxation-induced electromechanical dissipations. This paper presents an experimental study to obtain the rate dependent stress-stretch relation of DE membranes (VHBTM 9473) subjected to pure shear like loading and electric loading simultaneously. Stretching rate dependent behavior is observed. The results also show that the tensile force decreases as the voltage increases. The observations are compared with predictions by a viscoelastic model of DE. This experiment may be used for further studies of dynamic electromechanical coupling properties of DEs.