By submitting this form, you are agreeing to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Electroactive polymer generator , known as dielectric elastomers in the literature, is being developed for a wide variety of actuator applications . It has also been shown to operate in reverse as a generator. As such, It has several characteristics make it potentially well suited for power takeoff systems using wave, water current, wind, human motion, etc.
Electroactive polymer generator is a new smart material with characteristics and properties not seen in other materials that has been under development at SRI International. Currently, It has moved from the research and development stage to the commercial domain with research and development on practical applications, and furthermore to the mass production stage.
The operating principle is to use the horizontal deformation of elastomers that is a consequence of the synergistic combination of an electrostatic force and a repulsive force between the electrodes generated when a voltage difference is applied between the two electrodes
The Global Electroactive Polymer Generator market accounted for $XX Billion in 2023 and is anticipated to reach $XX Billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of XX% from 2024 to 2030.
Novel Electric Generator Using Electroactive Polymer Artificial Muscle (EPAM) – The operation principle in the generator mode is the transformation of mechanical energy into electric energy by deformation of the EPAM. Functionally, this mode resembles piezoelectricity, but its power generation mechanism is fundamentally different.
With EPAM, electric power can be generated even by a slow change in the EPAM shape, while for piezoelectric devices impulsive mechanical forces are needed to generate the electric power. Also, the amount of electric energy generated and conversion efficiency from mechanical to electrical energy can be greater than that from piezoelectricity.
Application of mechanical energy to EPAM to stretch it causes compression in thickness and expansion of the surface area. At this moment, electrostatic energy is produced and stored on the polymer as electric charge. When the mechanical energy decreases, the recovery force of the EPAM acts to restore the original thickness and to decrease the in-plane area.
At this time, the electric charge is pushed out to the electrode direction. This change in electric charge increases the voltage difference, resulting in an increase of electrostatic energy.
