Modeling and experimental study on dielectric elastomers incorporating humidity effect

In this research, we carry out a modeling and experimental study on the performance of a VHB 4910 elastomer considering the humidity effect. Firstly, based on the uniaxial tension test of VHB 4910, it is concluded that humidity leads to a reduction of the shear modulus. Subsequently, the static electromechanical performance of VHB 4910 is explored, which implies that voltage-induced deformation increases gradually with the increasing humidity. Finally, by applying a sinusoidal voltage, the humidity effect on the resonance properties of the VHB 4910 elastomer is found to decrease the resonant frequency and augment the vibration intensity.