Abstract In recent years, Dielectric elastomers (DEs) have received much interest for the dynamics applications as waveguide. However, predicting the wave propagation behavior in a DE medium is very challenging due to the complexity of the problem, which involves the delicate interplay between electromechanical coupling, large deformation, and particularly the intrinsic material viscoelasticity. In this paper, by integrating the state-of-art finite-deformation viscoelasticity theory into the framework of small-amplitude wave propagation superimposed on a finitely deformed medium, the Rayleigh-Lamb wave propagation in a viscoelastic DE medium is investigated. Simulation results demonstrate the effects of material viscosity, status of relaxation, external electrical load, and mechanical pre-stretch on the dispersion behavior of the wave. It is found that for both purely elastic and viscoelastic DE media, waves with certain frequencies could be filtered by actively tuning the electrical loads. Moreover, some interesting findings conclude that the material viscoelasticity may cause some significant changes in the wave dispersion behavior. Therefore, incorporating the material viscosity in modeling DE waveguide is expected to provide more accurate prediction on their performance. This work will help to better understand the fundamentals of wave propagation in DE media and trigger more innovative and optimal design for DE waveguide.

中文翻译：

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有限变形粘弹性介电弹性体 (DE) 层中的小幅度瑞利-兰姆波传播

摘要 近年来，介电弹性体（DEs）作为波导在动力学应用中受到了广泛关注。然而，由于问题的复杂性，预测 DE 介质中的波传播行为非常具有挑战性，这涉及机电耦合、大变形，尤其是固有材料粘弹性之间的微妙相互作用。在本文中，通过将最先进的有限变形粘弹性理论整合到叠加在有限变形介质上的小振幅波传播框架中，研究了粘弹性 DE 介质中的瑞利-兰姆波传播。仿真结果证明了材料粘度、松弛状态、外部电负载和机械预拉伸对波的色散行为的影响。发现对于纯弹性和粘弹性 DE 介质，可以通过主动调整电负载来过滤具有特定频率的波。此外，一些有趣的发现得出结论，材料的粘弹性可能会导致波色散行为发生一些重大变化。因此，在建模 DE 波导中加入材料粘度有望对其性能提供更准确的预测。这项工作将有助于更好地了解 DE 介质中波传播的基本原理，并为 DE 波导触发更具创新性和优化的设计。一些有趣的发现得出结论，材料的粘弹性可能会导致波色散行为发生一些重大变化。因此，在建模 DE 波导中加入材料粘度有望对其性能提供更准确的预测。这项工作将有助于更好地了解 DE 介质中波传播的基本原理，并为 DE 波导触发更多创新和优化设计。一些有趣的发现得出结论，材料的粘弹性可能会导致波色散行为发生一些重大变化。因此，在建模 DE 波导中加入材料粘度有望对其性能提供更准确的预测。这项工作将有助于更好地了解 DE 介质中波传播的基本原理，并为 DE 波导触发更具创新性和优化的设计。