  Dielectric elastomers have recently been proposed for various
biologically-relevant applications, in which they may operate in fluidic
environments where surface tension effects may have a significant effect on
their stability and reliability. Here, we present a theoretical analysis
coupled with computational modeling for a generalized electromechanical
analysis of surface stability in dielectric elastomers accounting for surface
tension effects. For mechanically deformed elastomers, significant increases in
critical strain and instability wavelength are observed for small
elastocapillary numbers. When the elastomers are deformed electrostatically,
both surface tension and the amount of pre-compression are found to
substantially increase the critical electric field while decreasing the
instability wavelength.
