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E u r o S c i C o n C o n f e r e n c e o n
Nanotechnology &
Smart Materials
Nano Research & Applications
ISSN 2471-9838
O c t o b e r 0 4 - 0 6 , 2 0 1 8
Am s t e r d a m , N e t h e r l a n d s
Nanotechnology & Smart Materials 2018
Page 69
Dielectric elastomer (DE) is a relatively new transducer technology uses
rubberlike polymers (elastomers) as actuator materials. The basic element of
DE is a very simple structure comprised of a thin elastomer sandwiched by soft
electrodes. When a voltage difference is applied between the electrodes, they are
attracted to each other by coulomb forces leading to a thickness wise contraction
and plane wise expansion of the elastomer. At the material level, DE actuator has
fast speed of response, with a high strain rate, high pressure and power density of 1
W/g. Recently, airplanes are paid attention as a new platform for Mars exploration.
The Mars airplane must be lightweight to fly using aerodynamic forces in the
rarefiedMartian atmosphere. Therefore light-weight and high-power actuators are
required for the Mars airplane. The advantages of the DE actuators are beneficial
for the Mars airplane. The DE actuators have a possibility to be used as actuators
for control surfaces (i.e. ailerons, rudder, and elevator) and a propeller of the Mars
airplane. This research reports a result of a wind tunnel test of a control surface
actuation using DE actuator to investigate a feasibility of the DE actuators for the
Mars airplane. A chord length of the wing is 160 mm, including the control surface
of 55 mm. A Ø80 mm, diaphragm-shaped DE of 0.1 g is used. Bias voltages are
from 3.2 to 3.7 kV. Angles of attack are from -10° to 10°. Flow velocities are 0, 10,
and 15 m/s. Deflection angles of the control surface are measured. The result
shows that the control surface is sufficiently actuated by DE actuator under
various flow conditions
Biography
Koji Fujita has received his BSc degree in Aerospace Engineer-
ing fromTohoku University in 2010 and pursued PhD at Tohoku
University under the supervision of Professor Hiroki Nagai. His
research focussed on an airplane for Mars exploration. His the-
sis work involves the conceptual design of the Mars airplane
and aerial deployment technique. He continued this research
at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency as a Research Fellow-
ship for Young Scientists of Japan Society, for the Promotion
of Science. Now, he is serving as an Assistant Professor at the
Institute of Fluid Science at Tohoku University. He started a joint
research with Co-Authors to utilize dielectric elastomer actua-
tors for his airplane for Mars exploration.
Wind tunnel test of dielectric elastomer
actuator for Mars airplane
Koji Fujita1, Mikio Waki2 , Mitsuru Uejima3 ,
Makoto Takeshita3 and Seiki Chiba4
1Institute of Fluid Science-Tohoku University, Japan
2Asset-Wits Inc, Japan
3Zeon Corporation, Japan
4Chiba Institute of Science, Japan
Koji Fujita et al., Nano Res Appl Volume:4
DOI: 10.21767/2471-9838-C6-023