TY - JOUR A1 - Zhu, Jian A1 - Stoyanov, Hristiyan A1 - Kofod, Guggi A1 - Suo, Zhigang T1 - Large deformation and electromechanical instability of a dielectric elastomer tube actuator N2 - This paper theoretically analyzes a dielectric elastomer tube actuator (DETA). Subject to a voltage difference between the inner and outer surfaces, the actuator reduces in thickness and expands in length, so that the same voltage will induce an even higher electric field. This positive feedback may cause the actuator to thin down drastically, resulting in electrical breakdown. We obtain an analytical solution of the actuator undergoing finite deformation when the elastomer obeys the neo-Hookean model. The critical strain of actuation is calculated in terms of various parameters of design. We also discuss the effect of the strain-stiffening on electromechanical behavior of DETAs by using the model of freely joined links. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3490186] Y1 - 2010 UR - http://jap.aip.org/ U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3490186 SN - 0021-8979 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liang, Xu-Jing A1 - Huang, Si-Min A1 - Li, Jian-Ping A1 - Zhu, Xian-Nv A1 - Lu, Yong-Ping A1 - Hocher, Berthold A1 - Chen, You-Peng T1 - Hepatic impairment induced by scrub typhus is associated with new onset of renal dysfunction JF - Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion N2 - Background: Scrub typhus is a potentially fatal infectious disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. There is little attention given to hepatic impairment in the adults with scrub typhus. This study investigated the incidence and the prognostic implications of hepatic impairment in patients with scrub typhus. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a total of 143 adult patients with scrub typhus who were admitted between January 1999 and December 2010 in Guangdong province, China. The patients were divided into three groups, e.g., normal, mild, and moderate to severe groups based on the elevated serum ALT and/or total bilirubin levels. Furthermore, clinical characteristics and prognosis of the patient groups were compared. Results: 109 patients (76.2%) had abnormal liver function. Among the patients with hepatic impairment 45 cases (31.4%), 54 cases (37.8%), and 10 cases (7.0%) had mild, moderate, and severe hepatic damage, respectively. The moderate to severe hepatic impairment group had higher levels of serum creatinine compared with that of normal hepatic function. The incidence of new onset of renal dysfunction - defined as peak serum creatinine >= 176 mu mol/L during hospital stay with no evidence of renal disease prior hospitalization - was 0% in the mild hepatic impairment group, 8.9% in the moderate hepatic impairment group, and 21.9% in the severe hepatic impairment group, (p = 0.005 for trend). Additionally, the patients with hepatic impairment (n = 109) had higher incidences of episodes of thrombocytopenia (45.9% vs. 8.82%, p < 0.001), hypoalbuminemia (50.5% vs. 11.8%, p < 0.001), new onset of renal dysfunction (16.5% vs. 0.0%, p = 0.011), and electrocardiogram abnormality (28.4% vs. 8.82%, p = 0.019) than the patients without hepatic impairment. Conclusions: The degree of hepatic impairment induced by scrub typhus is associated with new onset of renal dysfunction. KW - hepatic impairment KW - renal dysfunction KW - complication KW - outcome KW - scrub typhus Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.7754/Clin.Lab.2013.121203 SN - 1433-6510 VL - 60 IS - 1 SP - 63 EP - 68 PB - Clin Lab Publ., Verl. Klinisches Labor CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kollosche, Matthias A1 - Zhu, Jian A1 - Suo, Zhigang A1 - Kofod, Guggi T1 - Complex interplay of nonlinear processes in dielectric elastomers JF - Physical review : E, Statistical, nonlinear and soft matter physics N2 - A combination of experiment and theory shows that dielectric elastomers exhibit complex interplay of nonlinear processes. Membranes of a dielectric elastomer are prepared in various states of prestretches by using rigid clamps and mechanical forces. Upon actuation by voltage, some membranes form wrinkles followed by snap-through instability, others form wrinkles without the snap-through instability, and still others fail by local instability without forming wrinkles. Membranes surviving these nonlinear processes are found to attain a constant dielectric strength, independent of the state of prestretches. Giant voltage-induced stretch of 3.6 is attained. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.85.051801 SN - 1539-3755 VL - 85 IS - 5 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhu, Jian A1 - Kollosche, Matthias A1 - Lu, Tongqing A1 - Kofod, Guggi A1 - Suo, Zhigang T1 - Two types of transitions to wrinkles in dielectric elastomers JF - Soft matter N2 - A membrane of a dielectric elastomer coated with compliant electrodes may form wrinkles as the applied voltage is ramped up. We present a combination of experiment and theory to investigate the transition to wrinkles using a clamped membrane subject to a constant force and a voltage ramp. Two types of transitions are identified. In type-I transition, the voltage-stretch curve is N-shaped, and flat and wrinkled regions coexist in separate areas of the membrane. The type-I transition progresses by nucleation of small wrinkled regions, followed by the growth of the wrinkled regions at the expense of the flat regions, until the entire membrane is wrinkled. By contrast, in type-II transition, the voltage-stretch curve is monotonic, and the entire flat membrane becomes wrinkled with no nucleation barrier. The two types of transitions are analogous to the first and the second order phase transitions. While the type-I transition is accompanied by a jump in the vertical displacement, type-II transition is accompanied by a continuous change in the vertical displacement. Such transitions may enable applications in muscle-like actuation and energy harvesting, where large deformation and large energy of conversion are desired. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c2sm26034d SN - 1744-683X VL - 8 IS - 34 SP - 8840 EP - 8846 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kollosche, Matthias A1 - Kofod, Guggi A1 - Suo, Zhigang A1 - Zhu, Jian T1 - Temporal evolution and instability in a viscoelastic dielectric elastomer JF - Journal of the mechanics and physics of solids N2 - Dielectric elastomer transducers are being developed for applications in stretchable electronics, tunable optics, biomedical devices, and soft machines. These transducers exhibit highly nonlinear electromechanical behavior: a dielectric membrane under voltage can form wrinkles, undergo snap-through instability, and suffer electrical breakdown. We investigate temporal evolution and instability by conducting a large set of experiments under various prestretches and loading rates, and by developing a model that allows viscoelastic instability. We use the model to classify types of instability, and map the experimental observations according to prestretches and loading rates. The model describes the entire set of experimental observations. A new type of instability is discovered, which we call wrinkle-to-wrinkle transition. A flat membrane at a critical voltage forms wrinkles and then, at a second critical voltage, snaps into another state of winkles of a shorter wavelength. This study demonstrates that viscoelasticity is essential to the understanding of temporal evolution and instability of dielectric elastomers. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Dielectric elastomer KW - Viscoelasticity KW - Snap-through instability KW - Phase transition KW - Wrinkling Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmps.2014.11.013 SN - 0022-5096 SN - 1873-4782 VL - 76 SP - 47 EP - 64 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER -