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Applied to voltage, a dielectric elastomer membrane may deform into a mixture of two states under certain
conditions. One of which is the flat state and the other is the wrinkled state. In the flat state, the membrane is
relatively thick with a small area, while on the contrary, in the wrinkled state, the membrane is relatively thin with a
large area. The coexistence of these two states may cause the electromechanical phase transition of dielectric
elastomer. The phase diagram of idea dielectric elastomer membrane under unidirectional stress and voltage inspired
us to think about the liquid-to-vapor phase transition of pure substance. The practical working cycle of a steam
engine includes the thermodynamical process of liquid-to-vapor phase transition, the fact is that the steam engine
will do the maximum work if undergoing the phase transition process. In this paper, in order to consider the
influence of coexistent state of dielectric elastomer, we investigate the homogeneous deformation of the dielectric
elastomer tube. The theoretical model is built and the relationship between external loads and stretch are got, we can
see that the elastomer tube experiences the coexistent state before reaching the stretching limit from the diagram. We
think these results can guide the design and manufacture of energy harvesting equipments.
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