Descrizione del progetto
Dispositivi acustici di nuova generazione
Gli elastomeri dielettrici (DE, Dielectric Elastomers) sono una classe di materiali intelligenti in grado di trasformare la stimolazione elettrica in lavoro meccanico. Questa proprietà li rende ideali per l’impiego in dispositivi acustici soft a basso costo quali gli altoparlanti. L’obiettivo del progetto DEtune, finanziato dall’UE, è quello di sviluppare nuovi diaframmi acustici DE che agevolino la regolazione delle vibrazioni e consentano un controllo accurato della risposta acustica. Attraverso lo sviluppo di algoritmi specifici, gli scienziati promuoveranno l’auto-rilevamento delle vibrazioni generate da segnali elettrici o acustici. Le attività del progetto porteranno infine a un prototipo di trasduttore acustico DE in grado di funzionare sia come altoparlante che come microfono.
Obiettivo
The project operates in the key European research area of enabling technologies based on Advanced Materials. It deals with a class of smart electroactive polymers, called dielectric elastomers (DEs), which can be promisingly employed to develop soft low-cost electrostatic machines able to respond to electrical stimuli with high deformations and large actuation bandwidth. In the field of acoustics, DEs might enable the development of new loudspeakers in which the vibrating diaphragm and the actuator are combined into a soft membrane that can be adapted to arbitrary shapes or integrated into wearable textile structures.
This project will develop radically new DE acoustic diaphragms exploiting the paradigms of distributed surface actuation (DSA) and self-sensing. DSA will allow a regulation of diaphragms vibrations via localised excitation of the active surface, allowing a fine control of the acoustic response. Self-sensing will allow DE devices to work both as sound generation sources and sound pressure sensors, opening new perspectives in the field of active noise control and acoustic characterisation of environments.
Theoretical background on continuum vibrations in DE membranes will be first developed through modelling and experimental investigation with high-end laser vibrometry equipment. Multi-physics models of the acoustic-structure interaction of the DE diaphragms will be set-up. Diaphragms with DSA will be deployed through the segmentation of the active DE surface into arrays of independently-controlled portions via screen printing techniques. Algorithms for self-sensing of the vibrations generated by electrical or acoustic signals will be developed, which rely on simple electrical measurements of the active areas electrical variables. Finally, a prototype of a DE acoustic transducer, capable to work both as a speaker and a microphone, will be built, and its performance will be optimised leveraging on the investigated features of DSA and self-sensing.
Campo scientifico
- natural scienceschemical sciencespolymer sciences
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringtextiles
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesacoustics
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencescomputational sciencemultiphysics
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
66123 Saarbrucken
Germania