New materials capable of storing thermal energy in view building applications have been developed from the foaming ethylene-propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber with addition paraffin as a phase change material (PCM) at melting temperature about 21°C. Considering that EPDM foams prepared by using traditional chemical blowing agents are generally characterized rather elevated environmental load...

dielectric elastomer actuators, [ 17 ] and memristors. [ 18 ] Liquidphase gallium–indium alloys are popular for this “microfl uidics” approach to stretchable electronics since they are nontoxic and form an oxide layer [ 19–22 ] that aids in microcontact printing, [ 23 ] electrode alignment, [ 24 ] and 3D printing. [ 25 ] Finally, a common approach to stretchable electronics is to embed thin fi ...

We study the adhesion between an elastomer of cross-link index, P, and a flat solid surface where polymer chains of polymerisation index, N, have been end-grafted. To understand the adhesive feature of such a system, one has to study both the origin of the grafted layer interdigitation with the network and the end-grafted chain extraction out of the elastomer when it separates from the solid su...

A hydrostatically coupled dielectric elastomer (HCDE) actuator consists of two membranes of a dielectric elastomer, clamped with rigid circular rings. Confined between the membranes is a fixed volume of a fluid, which couples the movements of the two membranes when a voltage or a force is applied. This paper presents a computational model of the actuator, assuming that the membranes are neo-Hoo...

Cephalopods can display dazzling patterns of colours by selectively contracting muscles to reversibly activate chromatophores--pigment-containing cells under their skins. Inspired by this novel colouring strategy found in nature, we design an electro-mechano-chemically responsive elastomer system that can exhibit a wide variety of fluorescent patterns under the control of electric fields. We co...