Control-oriented modeling and analysis of tubular dielectric elastomer actuators dedicated to cardiac assist devices

This paper deals with the control-oriented modeling of a multilayered dielectric elastomer actuator based tube. The actuator is clamped at both sides and performs a radial displacement. The hyperelastic deformation and the viscoelastic performance, together with the electro-mechanical coupling are considered in the model. With the chosen Yeoh’s model for the Helmholtz free energy function, we aim to model the snapthrough effect of this tubular actuator at high applied voltage. Simulation results of the nonlinear dynamic model are later compared with experimental ones in order to identify unknown parameters of the dielectric elastomer, especially to fit the snapthrough effect and the high frequency performance. With proper identification process, our model has a good accuracy to fit the physical system (more than 90.27% for a ramp input and more than 82.7% for a step input) and is ready for the future controller design.