Analysis of the efficiency of a dielectric elastomer generator for energy harvesting

In this study, a dielectric elastomer (DE) generator is developed for micropower generation, and its efficiency is derived. It is shown explicitly that power generation efficiency depends on the thickness of the DE generator, the charging voltage, the effective stiffness of the DE generator, the dielectric constant, and the relative deformation. Through experiments with VHB (TM) 4905 film, the proposed analysis is verified. In particular, the effective stiffness of a DE generator inversely improves the power generation efficiency. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3541811]