Publications
© Werner Siemens Stiftung, Félix Wey

A valveless pumping concept with fully integrated actuation (DEA-based)

Dielectric Elastomer Actuator-Based Valveless Impedance-Driven Pumping for Meso- and Macroscale Applications
Amine Benouhiba, Armando Walter, Silje Ekroll Jahren, Thomas Martinez, Francesco Clavica, Dominik Obrist, Yoan Civet, and Yves Perriard
Soft Robotics

In this article, we have demonstrated that a high-performance, bladeless, and valveless soft pump with embedded actuation can be successfully fabricated and actuated to generate flow, using DEAs. The proposed pumping concept is based on an impedance pump mechanism. In addition to the simplicity of its design, its soft and monolithic aspects make it safe, self-contained, and lightweight. The considerable advantages of the proposed pumping concept combined with its high performance (up to 1.35 L/min) make it an attractive candidate for a variety of applications, especially biomedical applications.

2024

Journal Articles

Dielectric elastomer actuator-based valveless pump as Fontan failure assist device: introduction and preliminary study

A. Benouhiba; A. M. Walter; S. E. Jahren; T. G. Martinez; F. Clavica et al. 

Interdisciplinary Cardiovascular And Thoracic Surgery. 2024. Vol. 38, num. 4, p. ivae041. DOI : 10.1093/icvts/ivae041.

Fiber-Reinforced Equibiaxial Dielectric Elastomer Actuator for Out-of-Plane Displacement

S. Holzer; S. M. A. Konstantinidi; M. Koenigsdorff; T. Martinez; Y. Civet et al. 

Materials. 2024. Vol. 17, num. 15. DOI : 10.3390/ma17153672.

Investigation of buckling instabilities in fiber-reinforced DEAs

S. M. A. Konstantinidi; M. Koenigsdorff; T. G. Martinez; A. Benouhiba; J. Mersch et al. 

Composites Science and Technology. 2024. Vol. 258. DOI : 10.1016/j.compscitech.2024.110849.

Novel para-aortic cardiac assistance using a pre-stretched dielectric elastomer actuator

S. E. Jahren; T. G. Martinez; A. M. Walter; F. Clavica; P. P. Heinisch et al. 

Interdisciplinary CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery. 2024. DOI : 10.1093/icvts/ivae027.

Conference Papers

A Dielectric Elastomer based Miniaturized Soft Planar Microactuator

S. Holzer; B. Tiwari; S. M. A. Konstantinidi; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2024. ACTUATOR 2024; International Conference and Exhibition on New Actuator Systems and Applications, Wiesbaden, 2024-06-13 – 2024-06-14.

An artificial urinary sphincter based on dielectric elastomer technology

Q. P. M. De Menech; S. Zammouri; S. M. A. Konstantinidi; A. Benouhiba; Y. R. C. Civet et al. 

2024. SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation 2024, Long Beach, California, USA, March 24-28, 2024. DOI : 10.1117/12.3004813.

Carbon based printed electrodes for DEAs: study of pad, inkjet, and stencil printing

S. Holzer; A. M. Walter; S. M. A. Konstantinidi; T. G. Martinez; Y. R. C. Civet et al. 

2024. SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation 2024, Long Beach, California, USA, March 24-28, 2024. DOI : 10.1117/12.3010530.

Energy-based modeling and robust position control of a dielectric elastomer cardiac assist device

A. Hammoud; N. Liu; Y. Le Gorrec; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2024. 8th IFAC Workshop on Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Methods for Nonlinear Control, Besançon, France, 2024-06-10 – 2024-06-12. p. 25 – 30. DOI : 10.1016/j.ifacol.2024.08.251.

Frequency response of fiber reinforced DEAs

S. M. A. Konstantinidi; M. Koenigsdorff; T. G. Martinez; Y. R. C. Civet; G. Gerlach et al. 

2024. SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation 2024, Long Beach, California, USA, March 24-28, 2024. DOI : 10.1117/12.3010528.

Highly anisotropic carbon fiber electrodes for DEAs and their dynamic non-monotonic conductive properties

M. Koenigsdorff; J. Mersch; S. M. A. Konstantinidi; Y. Perriard; G. Gerlach 

2024. SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation 2024, Long Beach, California, USA, March 24-28, 2024. DOI : 10.1117/12.3010366.

Inversing the actuation cycle of dielectric elastomer actuators for a facial prosthesis

S. M. A. Konstantinidi; Q. P. M. De Menech; T. G. Martinez; P. Germano; A. Boegli et al. 

2024. SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation 2024, Long Beach, California, USA, March 24-28, 2024. DOI : 10.1117/12.3010529.

2023

Journal Articles

Dielectric Elastomer Actuator-Based Valveless Impedance-Driven Pumping for Meso- and Macroscale Applications

A. Benouhiba; A. Walter; S. E. Jahren; T. Martinez; F. Clavica et al. 

Soft Robotics. 2023. DOI : 10.1089/soro.2022.0244.

Hemodynamic effects of a dielectric elastomer augmented aorta on aortic wave intensity: An in-vivo study

S. E. Jahren; T. G. Martinez; A. M. Walter; L. Ferrari; F. Clavica et al. 

Journal of Biomechanics. 2023. Vol. 159. DOI : 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2023.111777.

Real-time actuation of a dielectric elastomer actuator neuroprosthesis for facial paralysis

S. M. A. Konstantinidi; C. Imholz; T. G. Martinez; A. Benouhiba; A. M. Walter et al. 

Smart Materials in Medicine. 2023. Vol. 5, num. (2024), p. 15 – 23. DOI : 10.1016/j.smaim.2023.06.003.

Uni-axial reinforced dielectric elastomer actuators with embedded 3D printed fibers

S. M. A. Konstantinidi; T. G. Martinez; B. Tandon; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

Smart Materials And Structures. 2023. Vol. 32, num. 12, p. 125011. DOI : 10.1088/1361-665X/ad0447.

Conference Papers

Mechanical Characterisation of Porcine Urethra: Non Linear Constitutive Models and Experimental Approach

Q. De Menech; S. Konstantinidi; T. Martinez; A. Benouhiba; Y. Civet et al. 

2023. Seventh International Conference on Advances in Biomedical Engineering (ICABME 2023), Beirut, Libanon (hybrid), October 12-13, 2023. p. 35 – 40. DOI : 10.1109/ICABME59496.2023.10293025.

Study of Potential Factors and their Interaction in Dielectric Elastomer based Cell Stretcher

S. Holzer; F. Hartmann; F. Öz; T. Martinez; Y. Civet et al. 

2023. 2023 26th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Zhuhai, China, November 5-8, 2023. DOI : 10.1109/ICEMS59686.2023.10345117.

2022

Journal Articles

A novel soft cardiac assist device based on a dielectric elastomer augmented aorta: An in vivo study

T. G. Martinez; S. E. Jahren; A. M. Walter; J. Chavanne; F. Clavica et al. 

Bioengineering & Translational Medicine. 2022. Vol. 8, num. Issue 2, p. 1 – 15, e10396. DOI : 10.1002/btm2.10396.

Adaptation of a solid-state-Marx modulator for electroactive polymer

M. Almanza; T. G. Martinez; M. Petit; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard et al. 

IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. 2022. Vol. 37, num. 11, p. 13014 – 13021. DOI : 10.1109/TPEL.2022.3183437.

Control-oriented modeling and analysis of tubular dielectric elastomer actuators dedicated to cardiac assist devices

N. Liu; T. G. Martinez; A. M. Walter; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. 2022. Vol. 7, num. 2, p. 4361 – 4367. DOI : 10.1109/LRA.2022.3148981.

Conference Papers

Characterization of Dielectric Elastomer Actuators: A Design of Experiments Approach

Q. P. M. De Menech; S. M. A. Konstantinidi; A. M. Walter; P. Mohaghegh; T. G. Martinez et al. 

2022. 2022 25th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Chiang Mai, Thailand, November 29-December 2, 2022. DOI : 10.1109/ICEMS56177.2022.9983027.

Influence of Axial Pre-stretch on Tubular Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

A. Benouhiba; A. M. Walter; T. G. Martinez; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2022. 2022 25th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Chiang Mai, Thailand, November 29-December 2, 2022. DOI : 10.1109/ICEMS56177.2022.9982925.

Soft Actuators for Facial Reanimation

S. Konstantinidi; T. Martinez; A. Benouhiba; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2022. IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Kyoto, JAPAN, Oct 23-27, 2022. p. 11109 – 11114. DOI : 10.1109/IROS47612.2022.9982089.

Study of the use of silver trace and improved flexibility in rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

A. M. Walter; T. G. Martinez; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2022. 2022 25th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Chiang Mai, Thailand, November 29-December 2, 2022. DOI : 10.1109/ICEMS56177.2022.9983288.

Theses

Ultra-high voltage, low power and energy recovering electronics for dielectric elastomer actuators

R. J. C. Mottet / Y. Perriard; A. Boegli (Dir.)  

Lausanne, EPFL, 2022. 

2021

Journal Articles

Design and modelling of a tubular dielectric elastomer actuator with constrained radial displacement as a cardiac assist device

T. Martinez; J. Chavanne; A. Walter; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

Smart Materials And Structures. 2021. Vol. 30, num. 10, p. 105024. DOI : 10.1088/1361-665X/ac1fa8.

Evaluation of dielectric elastomers to develop materials suitable for actuation

P. Banet; N. Zeggai; J. Chavanne; G. T. M. Nguyen; L. Chikh et al. 

Soft Matter, 2021. 2021. Vol. 17, p. 10786 – 10805. DOI : 10.1039/d1sm00621e.

Feasibility of a Dielectric Elastomer Augmented Aorta

M. Almanza; F. Clavica; J. Chavanne; D. Moser; D. Obrist et al. 

Advanced Science. 2021. Vol. 8, num. 6, p. 2001974. DOI : 10.1002/advs.202001974.

Ultra-High-Voltage (7-kV) Bidirectional Flyback Converter Used to Drive Capacitive Actuators

R. Mottet; M. Almanza; L. Pniak; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

Ieee Transactions On Industry Applications. 2021. Vol. 57, num. 5, p. 5145 – 5156. DOI : 10.1109/TIA.2021.3094460.

Conference Papers

A Cockcroft-Walton generator driven by wireless power transfer for implanted high-voltage generation

T. G. Martinez; M. Almanza; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2021. 2021 24th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Gyeongju, Republic of Korea (hybrid), October 31 – November 3, 2021. p. 243 – 246. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS52562.2021.9634392.

An Analytical Model for the Prediction of the Maximum Output Voltage Reachable with an Ultra-high Voltage Flyback Converter Driving Capacitive Actuators

R. J. C. Mottet; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

2021. 23rd European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications (EPE’21 ECCE Europe), Ghent, Belgium (virtual), September 6-10, 2021. DOI : 10.23919/EPE21ECCEEurope50061.2021.9570422.

DEA Self-discharge Characterization for Low Duty Cycle Applications

S. Konstantinidi; T. Martinez; R. Mottet; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2021. 24th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Gyeongju, Republic of Korea (hybrid), October 31 – November 3, 2021. p. 781 – 784. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS52562.2021.9634539.

Energy Analysis of a Cardiac Assist Device based on Dielectric Elastomer Actuator through an Equivalent Electrical Circuit

J. Chavanne; F. Clavica; T. Martinez; Y. Civet; D. Obrist et al. 

2021. IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), ELECTR NETWORK, Jul 12-16, 2021. p. 346 – 352. DOI : 10.1109/AIM46487.2021.9517705.

Improved Electrical Behavior of Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

A. M. Walter; T. G. Martinez; J. Chavanne; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2021. 2021 24th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Gyeongju, Republic of Korea (hybrid), October 31 – November 3, 2021. p. 95 – 98. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS52562.2021.9634203.

Redefining Energy Density for an uniaxial Dielectric Elastomer Actuator

J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2021. IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), ELECTR NETWORK, Jul 12-16, 2021. p. 1113 – 1118. DOI : 10.1109/AIM46487.2021.9517512.

Schmitt trigger-based control strategy for the discharge phase of an ultra-high-voltage bidirectional flyback

R. Mottet; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

2021. 24th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS 2021)), Gyeongju, Republic of Korea (hybrid), October 31 – November 3, 2021. p. 232 – 235. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS52562.2021.9634195.

Posters

Ultra-high voltage, compact and energy recovering electronics for dielectric elastomer actuators

R. Mottet; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

10th International conference on Electromechanically Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles (EuroEAP 2021), Linköping, Sweden (online), June 1-3, 2021.

Patents

Dielectric elastomer actuator

Y. Perriard; J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; M. Almanza 

US2022393098; EP4052309; WO2021084503.

2021.

Stretchable tubular device and use thereof as a counterpulsation device

Y. Civet; Y. Perriard; J. Chavanne; T. G. Martinez; M. Almanza 

US2023166097; EP4143896; WO2021220087; EP3903847.

2021.

2020

Journal Articles

Towards the material limit and field concentration smoothing in multilayer dielectric elastomer actuators

M. Almanza; J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

Smart Materials And Structures. 2020. Vol. 29, num. 4, p. 045044. DOI : 10.1088/1361-665X/ab72e7.

Conference Papers

Control Strategy for the Discharge Phase of an Ultra-High Voltage (>7kV) Bi-Directional Flyback Converter Driving Capacitive Actuators

R. J. C. Mottet; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

2020. ICEMS 2020 – The 23rd International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems, Hamamatsu, Japan, November 24-27, 2020. p. 1326 – 1330. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS50442.2020.9290814.

Identification of material parameters of a tubular dielectric elastomer actuator for a cardiac assist device

T. G. Martinez; J. Chavanne; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2020. ICEMS – 23rd International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems, Hamamatsu, Japan, November 24-27, 2020. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS50442.2020.9290821.

Manufacturing and Tests of a Tubular Multilayer Dielectric Elastomer Actuator for an Impedance Pump

J. Chavanne; J. Haenni; T. G. Martinez; D. Moser; A. M. Walter et al. 

2020. ICEMS – International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems, Hamamatsu, Japan, November 24-27, 2020. p. 380 – 383. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS50442.2020.9290904.

2019

Conference Papers

Characterization of a radial cylindrical spring using an electromechanical test bench

V. Mottier; D. Moser; J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2019. 2019 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), Hong Kong, China, July 8-12, 2019. DOI : 10.1109/AIM.2019.8868897.

Critical Parasitic Elements of Coupled Inductors for Ultra-High Voltage Flyback Converters Used to Drive Capacitive Actuators

R. Mottet; M. Almanza; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

2019. The 22nd International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems – ICEMS 2019, Harbin, China, August 11-14, 2019. p. 3476 – 3480. DOI : 10.1109/ICEMS.2019.8921772.

Development of a biologically inspired in-vitro platform for long-term assessment of commercial and innovative ureteral stents

F. Clavica; S. Zheng; D. Carugo; A. Mosayyebi; S. Waters et al. 

2019. Incontinence: the Engineering Challenge XII, London, Great Britain, November 13-14, 2019.

Drastic breakdown field reduction in multilayer DEA

M. Almanza; J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2019. 9th international conference on Electromechanically Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles, Dresden, Germany, June 4-6, 2019.

High voltage switch for compact bidirectional dc-dc converter driving dielectric electroactive polymer actuators

L. Pniak; M. Almanza; R. Mottet; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2019. 9th international conference on Electromechanically Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles, Dresden, Germany, June 4-6, 2019.

Impedance pumping as a non-invasive treatment for underactive bladder? An ex-vivo proof-of-concept-study in porcine bladders.

F. Clavica; J. Roth; M. P. Schneider; Y. Civet; F. Burkhard et al. 

2019. Incontinence: The Engineering Challenge XII, London, Great Britain, November 13 – 14, 2019.

Multi-level high-voltage power supply for dea application

L. Depreux; L. Pniak; M. Almanza; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2019. 9th international conference on Electromechanically Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles, Dresden, Germany, June 4-6, 2019.

Towards an ultra-high voltage gain, compact, and energy recovering Flyback DC/DC Converter

R. Mottet; M. Almanza; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

2019. 9th international conference on Electromechanically Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles, Dresden, Germany, June 4-6, 2019.

Urine-Contactless Device to Empty Bladders: an Ex-Vivo Proof-of-Concept Study in Porcine Bladders

F. Clavica; J. Roth; M. P. Schneider; Y. Civet; F. Burkhard et al. 

2019. The 49th Annual Congress of the International Continence Society (ICS 2019), Gothenburg, Sweden, September 3-6, 2019. p. S44 – S45.

Theses

Cylindrical Dielectric Elastomer Actuator for Cardiac Assist Device

J. A. J-M. Chavanne / Y. Perriard; Y. R. C. Civet (Dir.)  

Lausanne, EPFL, 2019. 

Posters

To-Pee or not-to-Pee? A Non-invasive, Urine-Contactless Device to Empty Bladders

F. Clavica; J. Roth; M. P. Schneider; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard et al. 

Swiss Medtech Expo, Luzern, Switzerland, September 10-11, 2019.

Patents

Spring with a plurality of elements, and actuator including such a spring

J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

US11856861; EP3716899; US2021361929; EP3716899; WO2019102417.

2019.

2018

Conference Papers

Design of an Innovative Cylindrical Spring with a Negative Stiffness

J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2018. The 2018 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), Auckland, New Zealand, July 9-12, 2018. p. 557 – 562. DOI : 10.1109/AIM.2018.8452241.

Electric Charge Transfer Between Cascading Dielectric Electroactive Polymer Actuators

R. Mottet; J. Chavanne; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

2018. The 2018 International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Jeju, South Corea, October 7-10, 2018. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS.2018.8549041.

2017

Conference Papers

Energy analysis of a DEAP based cylindrical actuator coupled with a radial negative stiffness spring

J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2017. Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2017, Portland, Oregon, USA, March 25 – 29, 2017. DOI : 10.1117/12.2258382.