Pressure monitoring inside a polymer tube based on a dielectric elastomer membrane sensor

Philipp Loew; Gianluca Rizzello; Stefan Seelecke

doi:10.1117/12.2296332

27 March 2018 Pressure monitoring inside a polymer tube based on a dielectric elastomer membrane sensor

Philipp Loew, Gianluca Rizzello, Stefan Seelecke

Proceedings Volume 10594, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) XX; 105941K (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2296332
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2018, Denver, Colorado, United States

Abstract

Dielectric Elastomers (DE) represent an attractive technology for the realization of low cost and highly stretchable capacitive sensors. The novel contribution of this work is the development of a nonintrusive DE sensor (DES) for polymer tubes, capable of measuring pressure levels inside the tube up to 60 bar. A novel solution is proposed to perform the measurement, in which a membrane DES is wrapped around the tube. While the tube expands due to high pressure, the DES capacitance increases accordingly. To perform system characterization, a test rig is designed to measure the expansion of a polymer tube while applying an external pressure. Several experiments are performed to obtain the tube characteristics at different pressure levels. Based on theoretical predictions and tube characterization, membrane DES are developed, manufactured, and then characterized. Finally, it is shown how the change in capacitance can be related to the pressure inside the tube, allowing to obtain the desired measurement. The performance of the device is assessed by means of several experiments.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Philipp Loew, Gianluca Rizzello, and Stefan Seelecke "Pressure monitoring inside a polymer tube based on a dielectric elastomer membrane sensor", Proc. SPIE 10594, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) XX, 105941K (27 March 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2296332

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available