KEYWORDS: Actuators, Modeling, Electroactive polymers, Electrodes, Data modeling, Process modeling, Turbulence, 3D modeling, Dielectrics, Electroluminescence
Controlling turbulence is a major aim for many engineering disciplines. Decades of research, have shown that the large
frictional drag in turbulent flows is attributed to the existence of near-wall coherent structures. Turbulence control is
therefore likely to be achieved by manipulating these coherent structures. The challenge this presents is to find actuators
that are functional at the spatial scales of those coherent structures (10 μm to 0.1 mm) and their temporal scale (100
kHz). Recent advances in MEMS technology have made possible the construction of such actuators. Electroactive
polymers (EAP) provide excellent performance, are lightweight, flexible, and inexpensive. Therefore EAPs, and in
particular dielectric elastomers (DEAs), provide many potential applications as micro-actuators. The modelling and
simulating of EAP actuators are a cost-effective way of providing a better understanding of the material itself in order to
optimise designs. A technique to accurately model DEA materials, taking into account its non-linearities as well as its
large deformations, is being developed in this study.
A quantitative bidirectional color schlieren system is presented, analyzed, and demonstrated. This method is capable of measuring simultaneously two components of deflection angles in two perpendicular spatial directions. The system acts as two independent schlieren setups with perpendicular knife-edge orientations. The method employs a two-color filter. A bidirectional heterodyne schlieren method is presented as well. The system is demonstrated by measuring various phase objects and compared with conventional schlieren. The sensitivity of the measurements can be significantly improved over the existing bidirectional schlieren methods. Moreover, the system is conceptually simple and inexpensive.
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