Chaotic Motion of a Parametrically Excited Dielectric Elastomer

Abstract

In this paper, an effort is made to study the chaotic motions of a dielectric elastomer (DE). The DE is activated by a time-dependent voltage (AC voltage), which is superimposed on a DC voltage. The Gent strain energy function is employed to model the nonlinear behavior of the elastomeric matter. The nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODE) in terms of the stretch of the elastomer governing the motion of the system is deduced using the Euler–Lagrange method and the Rayleigh dissipation function. This ODE is solved via the use of a time integration-based solver. The bifurcation diagrams of Poincaré sections are generated to identify the chaotic domains. The largest Lyapunov exponents (LLEs) are illustrated for validation of the results obtained by the bifurcation diagrams. Various types of motion for the system are precisely discussed through the depiction of stretch-time responses, phase-plane diagrams, Poincaré sections and power spectral density (PSD) diagrams. The results reveal that the damping coefficient plays an influential role in suppressing the chaos phenomenon. Besides, the initial stretch of the elastomer could affect the chaotic interval of system parameters.