A higher-order finite element framework for hyper-visco-elastodynamics of soft multifunctional composites

Smart multifunctional polymeric composites such as electroactive polymers, magnetoactive polymers and active hydrogels find numerous applications in soft robotics, energy harvesting, flexible electronic devices, tactile sensors, precision drug delivery devices etc.. Accurate simulation of large deformation and large-strain response of these composites under different stimuli requires sophisticated formulations to capture multiphysical interactions at the interface between solid mechanics, electromagnetism and chemical transport. Moreover, the viscoelastic characteristics of the underlying polymer and the high-frequency (dynamic) response require different time integration schemes for solving ordinary differential equations of two different orders, resulting in inconsistencies and discretisation errors [4]. This contribution presents a novel unified computational framework for simulating the response of electroactive polymers [1, 4] and magnetoactive polymers [2], including the effects of growth [1, 3], viscoelasticity [2] and elastodynamics [4]. Several benchmark examples and problems of practical interest are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed framework.