简介:Underanappliedvoltage,dielectricelastomers(DEs)produceanactuationstrainthatisnonlinear,partlybecauseofthematerialproperties.Inthisstudy,anexperimentalcharacterizationisconductedtoevaluatehowtheambienttemperatureandpre-stretchaffectedtheactuationperformance.ForDEswithapre-stretchof2×2,anincreaseoftemperaturefrom-10°to80°resultsinavariationintheactuationstrainofmorethan1700%.Lowpre-stretchedDEsaremoresusceptibletotemperaturechange;whilehighlypre-stretchedDEsarerelativelyinsensitivetotemperature,becauseinthiscasetheenergyconversionwasdominatedbymechanicalstretching,ratherthanthermalconduction,duringtheactuation.