Modelling the electromechanical sensitivity of silicone composites using response surface methodology

Abstract

Abstract Dielectric elastomers are used for sensor and actuator applications. These materials convert voltage applied directly into strain through Maxwell stress. An important parameter in the determination of voltage induced strains is electromechanical sensitivity. This paper presents an approach to establish the model for predicting the electromechanical sensitivity of silicone dielectric elastomer composites using the response surface methodology. Two-factor and two-level, face-cantered composite design is used for experimentation. The parameters which affect the electromechanical sensitivity are selected as superconducting carbon black (SCCB) and barium titanate (BT). Response surface methodology is used to derive second-order quadratic model with interactions. Investigation showed that SCCB has more significant effect than parameter BT, on controlling the electromechanical sensitivity of these composites. Maximum electromechanical sensitivity for these composites was found at around ≤ 4 parts per hundred weight fractions for both the parameters.