Maxwell stress is an important driver of the actuation of smart materials. Its use in the modeling of ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs) has been limited and debated, with different groups arguing about its importance. In particular, the use of an inflated value of the dielectric constant to enable numerical simulations could allegedly increase Maxwell stress.
In their new paper published in the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, our Ph.D. candidate Alain Boldini and Prof. Maurizio Porfiri demonstrated that Maxwell stress is independent of the value of the dielectric constant. This study supports the importance of including this phenomenon in the modeling of IPMCs.
Read the full paper “On Maxwell stress and its relationship with the dielectric constant in ionic polymer metal composites” here.
Image credit: Alain Boldini and Maurizio Porfiri.