Study of the use of silver trace and improved flexibility in rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEAs) are more and more used thanks to their stretchable and flexible properties. The fields of use are many, but the biomedical domain is particularly interesting in the case of artificial muscles. In DEAs, resistance is an important property because it limits the time response. Usually, electrodes are only carbon based and the resistance is quite high, especially with low thicknesses. By adding a silver trace, it has been possible to decrease the access resistance. As the rigidity of the device limits the assistance provided by the implant, a new manufacturing process is tested in order to increase the flexibility.