Low-voltage planar PVC gel actuator with high performances

In this work, a novel planar actuator based on plasticized poly (vinyl chloride) gel and flexible silicone grease electrodes is proposed to realize a new soft actuator with high performance under low driving voltages. The proposed planar PVC gel actuator (PPGA) can demonstrate a strain of 21%, an output stress of over 0.6 MPa and a respond time of about 90 ms, only at a low driving voltage of 120 V. These performances are comparable to those of the biological muscle and are much better as compared to 10–12% strain and 0.09 MPa stress at 400 V for the traditional stainless electrodes-based multilayered PVC gel actuator (MPGA). In addition, compared to the typical planar dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) (3 M VHB4905), the operating voltage and response time for the PPGA are reduced by one order of magnitude. A theoretical model is used to discuss the difference between the two types of actuators, finding a good agreement with the experimental results. Furthermore, the PPGA can be continuously actuated for more than 1 million times which shows a good durability. These results demonstrate the feasibility of PPGA as a soft actuator, so a wide application is expected.