title: On nonlinear thermo-electro-elasticity.
abstract: Electro-active polymers (EAPs) for large actuations are nowadays well-known and promising candidates for producing sensors, actuators and generators. In general, polymeric materials are sensitive to differential temperature histories. During experimental characterizations of EAPs under electro-mechanically coupled loads, it is difficult to maintain constant temperature not only because of an external differential temperature history but also because of the changes in internal temperature caused by the application of high electric loads. In this contribution, a thermo-electro-mechanically coupled constitutive framework is proposed based on the total energy approach. Departing from relevant laws of thermodynamics, thermodynamically consistent constitutive equations are formulated. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed thermo-electro-mechanically coupled framework, a frequently used non-homogeneous boundary-value problem, i.e. the extension and inflation of a cylindrical tube, is solved analytically. The results illustrate the influence of various thermo-electro-mechanical couplings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Mechanics , University of Erlangen-Nuremberg , Paul-Gordan Strasse 3, 91052 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mehnert
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Mechanics, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Paul-Gordan Strasse 3, 91052 Erlangen, Germany; Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK.
authors.forename: Mokarram
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hossain
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Mechanics , University of Erlangen-Nuremberg , Paul-Gordan Strasse 3, 91052 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1490-947X
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Steinmann
keywords: electro-active polymers; electro-mechanical problem; nonlinear elasticity; thermo-electro-mechanical coupling; thermo-mechanical problem