Electric-field-triggered instabilities in dielectric elastomer composites: application to tunable phononic crystals*

Tunable phononic crystals offer promising directions for elastic wave control. When phononic crystals are composed of soft dielectric elastomers, their band-gaps may be manipulated through an applied electric field. In addition, the rich electromechanical instability landscape in these materials offers opportunities for enhanced tunability. In this work, we report on our numerical simulation capability and show how electrically triggered instabilities provide a new route to tunability in phononic crystals composed of dielectric elastomers. The result is a comprehensive view of the instability landscape in dielectric elastomer composites, the suggestion of favorable actuation arrangements, as well a general strategy for exploring enhanced band-gap tunability.