Increasing force generation in electroadhesive devices through modelling of novel electrode geometries

Two approaches were taken to increase the obtainable electroadhesive (EA) forces from EA electrode devices using finite element analysis (FEA): (i) optimising electrode widths and spacings using 2D parametric simulations; and (ii) optimising electrode geometries using 3D simulations. The Maxwell stress distributions generated by the simulated EA pads are reported; and illustrate how electrode geometries influence the EA forces generated. The FEA analyses were carried out using ANSYS MAXWELL with an automatic adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) technique which accelerates convergence and decreases the number of elements needed for study of mesh independency. The 2D parametric FEA shows optimum electrode widths of 2.6 mm and optimum spacing between electrodes of 0.2 mm for an effective surface of EA pads. 3D FEA shows that from the studied EA pads with a constant effective area, sine-wave shaped electrodes can generate substantially enhanced EA forces compared to other electrode geometries. This is attributed to maximising the electric field gradient and could benefit multiple applications. The simulation procedure is also validated by real-world problems.