  Dielectric elastomers (DEs) that couple deformation and electrostatics have
the potential for use in soft sensors and actuators with applications ranging
from robotic, biomedical, energy, aerospace and automotive technologies.
However, currently available DEs are limited by weak electromechanical coupling
and require large electric fields for significant actuation. In this work, a
statistical mechanics-based model of DE chains is applied to elucidate the role
of a polymer network architecture in the performance of the bulk material.
Given a polymer network composed of chains that are cross-linked, the paper
examines the role of cross-link density, orientational density of chains, and
other network parameters in determining the material properties of interest
including elastic modulus, electrical susceptibility, and the electromechanical
coupling. From this analysis, a practical strategy is presented to increase the
deformation and usable work derived from (anisotropic) dielectric elastomer
actuators by as much as $75-100\%$.
