Effect of actuation parameters and environment on the breakdown voltage of silicone dielectric elastomer films

This paper presents results on dielectric breakdown studies for silicone dielectric elastomer (DE) membranes. Dielectric breakdown is a crucial property for the characterization of DE actuator behaviour. Here, we particularly focus on the effect of environmental parameters on the breakdown field, using a recently designed novel test stand for automatic testing of multiple measurement points per sample in a climate chamber. We present an extensive study about the influence of temperature, humidity, and water content on the breakdown field of DEs under indoor environmental conditions. Additionally, the effect of actuation parameters, such as various stretch-ratios, as well as the influence of screen-printed carbon black electrodes, is systematically investigated. The study indicates slightly higher breakdown fields with increasing temperatures but negligible influence of humidity and water content changes. Samples with printed electrodes show significantly lower breakdown fields whereas the increase of stretch ratio resulted in significantly higher breakdown fields.