DETERMINING THE STRESS-STRAIN CURVE OF PDMS-SIO2-TIO2 ELECTROACTIVE POLYMERS

The aim of this paper is to investigate the mechanical properties of PDMS-SiO2-TiO2 electroactive polymers. Recently, the electroactive polymers are emerging as possible candidates for actuators and sensors applications at micro and nano scales. Generally, the characteristics like large strain, high stress, high energy density, good efficiency and high response speed are required to obtain a good overall actuator performance. The mechanical tensile tests were performed on elastomer specimens using a tensile test machine from TIRA, Germany. The stress-strain measurements were made on dumbbell shaped cut form thin films, at an extension rate of 50 mm/min, at room temperature. The preliminary results showed an elastic modulus ranging from 0.1 MPa to almost 1 MPa. We concluded that the tested elastomers are suitable for the electroactive polymer actuators, for example, as microactuation systems in MEMS technology.