Article Not peer-reviewed version

Generating Electricity With Hydraulically

Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic
(HASEL) Transducers

Isabel Hess , Stephen Chamot , Blake Boren * , Patrick Musgrave *

Posted Date: 26 November 2024

doi: 10.20944/preprints202411.1947.v1

Keywords: energy conversion; energy transducers; energy generation; soft robotics; distributed embedded
energy conversion; DEEC-Tec; HASELs

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Article
Generating Electricity with Hydraulically Amplified
Self-Healing Electrostatic (HASEL) Transducers
Isabel Hess 1 , Stephen Chamot 2 , Blake Boren 2, * and Patrick Musgrave 1, *
1 University of Florida
2 National Renewable Energy Laboratory
* Correspondence: [email protected] and [email protected]

Abstract: This study identifies hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic (HASEL) transducers as elec-
tricity generators by assessing their capability to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, contrary to
their conventional role as actuators. HASELs are soft, variable-capacitance transducers inspired by biological
muscles, which were developed to mimic the flexibility and functionality of natural muscle tissues. This research
characterizes HASELs as generators by reversing their energy conversion mechanism—applying mechanical
energy to deform the HASEL to generate electrical energy. The study includes analytic modeling and empirical
evaluation, thereby assessing the practical laboratory performance of HASELs as electricity generators. Outcomes
of the study include the following: (i) up to 2.5 mJ per cycle per HASEL pouch of positive net energy generation in
experimental testing—corresponding to an energy density of 2.0 mJ cm−3 ; (ii) a maximum theoretical conversion
of 5.2 mJ cm−3 ; (iii) the electromechanical characteristics governing efficient conversion; and (iv) future design
optimization strategies to enhance the effectiveness of HASELs as electricity generators—potentially broaden-
ing their applicability and utility in research fields such as renewable energy and general adaptive electricity
generation.

Keywords: energy conversion; energy transducers; energy generation; soft robotics; distributed embedded energy
conversion; DEEC-Tec; HASELs

1. Introduction
Electrostatic transducers utilizing the principle of variable capacitance to convert mechanical
energy to electrical energy or vice versa can be used as actuators, sensors, or energy generators. In
particular, an electrostatic transducer can generate electricity when an external mechanical load physi-
cally changes its capacitance and induces a change in either the transducer’s charge or voltage [1–3].
This electrostatic energy harvesting process requires an active priming voltage, unlike electromagnetic
generators, which convert mechanical work to electric energy passively by induction. However, elec-
trostatic transducers are particularly promising as an energy conversion method because they can be
directly embedded into flexible structures, enabling energy conversion for applications such as flexible
wave energy converters [3–7] where rigid and bulky electromagnetic transducers are not possible.

1.1. Dielectric Elastomer Actuators and Generators

Flexible electrostatic energy generators consist of electrodes on a compliant substrate. External
mechanical work deforms the substrate, changing the distance between and/or area of the electrodes,
therefore varying its capacitance. Dielectric elastomer generators (DEGs) are a type of electrostatic
generator, also known as electro-active polymers, that have been widely explored and consist of a
thin elastomer membrane with electrodes coated on either surface [1,2,8]. They generate electricity by
amplifying the energy of a small priming voltage. First, in-plane tensile forces stretch the membrane
and reduce a DEG’s elastomer thickness via the Poisson effect, leading to an increase in capacitance.
After the priming voltage is applied, the elastomer is allowed to relax, capacitance decreases, and the
mechanical energy of relaxation is converted to an electric current, which leaves the generator with
greater energy than the initial priming electricity. In actuator mode, DEGs are known as dielectric
elastomer actuators (DEAs), and when subjected to a high-voltage, they mechanically deform [9–11].

© 2024 by the author(s). Distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY license.

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As energy generators, DEGs have been built in a wide range of deformation configurations,
including uniaxial, equibiaxial, prestretched circular, and conical-shaped membranes [2], and have
been used to harvest mechanical energy from waves [5,12–14], flows [15], and human motion [16]. In
addition to DEGs, other types of electrostatic energy generators have been developed to improve the
conversion between mechanical work and electrical energy. For example, dielectric fluid transducers
have been developed to increase conversion efficiency and use mechanically driven fluid pressure to
deform a membrane and separate the flexible electrode [17]. Hexagonal distributed embedded energy
converters (HexDEECs) [18] have been developed as individual unit cells to create an energy converter
metamaterial, where each HexDEEC consists of a hyperelastic force amplification frame with an air
gap between flexible electrodes. Note that electrostatic energy generators are susceptible to failure by
dielectric breakdown, which occurs when high electric fields overcome the breakdown voltage of the
insulator separating the electrodes. DEGs are particularly susceptible to dielectric breakdown due to
their thin elastomer membrane, and breakdown at a single location causes failure of the entire DEG by
creating a short circuit between the electrodes [1,19].

1.2. Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic Actuators and Generators

Hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic (HASEL) transducers were developed to over-
come the limitations of DEAs. HASEL transducers consist of two layers of inextensible but flexible
polymers that are heat-sealed to form a pouch filled with dielectric oil. Flexible electrodes are applied
to the exterior of the two pouch sides, creating a compliant parallel-plate pouch capacitor [20]. A high
voltage can be applied to a HASEL’s electrodes, causing its electrodes to “zip together” (via Maxwell
electrostatic forcing), yielding a bulk contraction of the HASEL. The HASEL acts as an actuator in
this case. Because HASELs have an internal fluid that moves during actuation, they can achieve
larger mechanical actuation forces than a DEA with the same displacement because of hydraulic
amplification.
The HASEL acronym refers to the benefits of using a dielectric fluid instead of a dielectric
elastomer: hydraulic amplification and self-healing from dielectric breakdown [20,21]. HASELs can self-
heal after dielectric breakdown because their dielectric fluid diffuses the local breakdown into the bulk
volume of that same dielectric fluid. As actuators, HASELs are well suited for soft robotic applications,
as they have similar mechanical efficiency to biological muscle, high force output, low stiffness, and
high-frequency bandwidth [21]. To that end, HASELs have been used for a range of bio-inspired robotic
actuation, including undulatory swimmers [22,23], jellyfish [24], grippers [25,26], and prostheses [27].
As variable capacitors, HASELs can also be used for sensing and energy generation. Indeed, a HASEL’s
sensing capability has been implemented for haptic feedback [28] and self-sensing of position during
actuation [26,29]. Nonetheless, while previous work into HASELs acting as electrostatic generators
has occurred [30], their energy generation capabilities have not been experimentally determined.
This study presents the energy generation capability of contracting Peano-HASEL electrostatic
transducers. The study experimentally generates electrical energy from commercially purchased
HASEL transducers using a constant-voltage process and compares the results against an established
analytic model of a HASEL’s behavior (e.g., force, stroke, voltage) [21,31]. Thus, this study reveals
the net energy recovered from HASELs as a function of their priming voltage and their associated
mechanical work input, quantifying their energy generation performance and efficiency. In addition,
the study quantifies the accuracy of an existing HASEL analytic model to predict HASEL energy har-
vesting conversion performance. These results provide the first analysis of HASEL energy generation
performance—results that will enable further research into the applied use of HASELs as electrical
generators.

1.3. Paper Outline

The Materials and Methods in Section 2 presents the HASEL analytic model, the proposed energy
generation method, the experimental energy harvesting platform, and high-voltage energy harvesting
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circuitry. Section 3 presents the results, including the energy generated by the HASELs characterized
in this study, their mechanical efficiency, and their comparison with the analytic model. Concluding
remarks are discussed in Section 4.

2. Materials and Methods

This study identifies the effectiveness and efficiency of HASEL transducers to generate electricity
through analytic modeling and experimental characterization. In this section, an analytic model
originally developed to describe a HASEL actuator’s performance [31] is adapted to predict its
electrical generative performance. A constant-voltage (CV) energy harvesting method is proposed
and implemented in an experimental test bed. To complete their characterization, the constitutive
relationships governing a HASELs force, stroke, and voltage were measured for the HASEL used in
this study.

2.1. Analytic Model of HASEL Electrostatics

HASELs are compliant variable capacitors made from pouches of dielectric fluid with opposing
flexible electrodes painted outside the pouch. A photo of a two-pouch HASEL and the schematic for
a single HASEL pouch are shown in Figure 1. A HASEL’s capacitance changes when the distance
between its two electrodes changes via fluid movement in and out of the electrode-covered region of
the pouch. In this section, the quasi-static analytic model of HASEL actuators, as derived by Kellaris et
al. [31], is recontextualized to predict HASELs’ electricity generation performance. The model relates a
HASEL’s capacitance—derived from the theory of parallel plate capacitors—to the maximum amount
of electrical energy a HASEL transducer can produce. The analytic model is quasi-static, assuming that
zipping and unzipping of the HASEL pouch occurs slowly enough that viscous and inertial effects
within the dielectric oil can be neglected.
The HASEL pouch fluid-filled region is assumed to be made from cylindrical segments, which
is valid when (i) the pouch zips homogeneously along its width and (ii) the fluid pressure inside the
pouch is much greater than the Maxwell stress induced by the electric field. When the fluid makes
cylindrical sections, the HASEL’s contraction can be parameterized by a single degree of freedom,
α—the pouch’s “zip angle”—which is shown in Figure 1b.

(a) Two-pouch HASEL (b) Single-pouch diagram

Figure 1. Image and diagram of a HASEL transducer. (a) Image of a two-pouch HASEL actuator
commercially purchased from Artimus Robotics [32]. The black bars are the flexible electrodes that are
painted on the dielectric film surface. (b) Drawing of a HASEL pouch’s cross-section with geometric
properties relevant to the model. The pouch stroke is measured from the zipped state. Its fully zipped
state (top) has the highest capacitance, and the unzipped state (bottom) has the lowest capacitance.
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The electrical energy that a variable capacitor can generate is governed by Equation (1), which
depends on the change in capacitance, ∆C, and the priming voltage, V.

1
Ee = ∆CV 2 (1)
2
The HASEL’s capacitance is determined by Equation (2), an integral over the surface projection of
the electrodes onto the mid-line, S, of the capacitance of each material in the capacitor stack: the
solid dielectric film with thickness hs and absolute permittivity ϵs and the liquid dielectric with its
corresponding parameters h f and ϵ f . The thickness of the fluid is a function of the internal pouch
zipping angle, α.
! −1
Z
hs h f (α)
C= + dS (2)
s ϵs ϵf

The maximum capacitance is reached when the HASEL is fully zipped and there is no fluid dielectric
between the electrodes in the capacitor stack, Equation (3), where Le is the length of the electrode
region and w is the pouch width into the page in Figure 1b.
ϵs
Cmax = w Le (3)
2hs

For a constant applied voltage, energy generated is maximized with the largest change in capacitance.
If the capacitance change between zipped and unzipped configurations is large, such that Cmax ≫ Cmin ,
then ∆C approximates Cmax , and the maximum theoretical energy can be defined by Equation (4).

1 wϵs
Ee,T = Cmax V 2 = Le VC2 (4)
2 4hs

The capacitance at an arbitrary zip state is needed to predict the energy harvesting performance
between two partially zipped states. It was assumed that only the zipped portion of the electrodes
contributes to the HASEL’s capacitance, C (α), because the electric field between the electrodes in
the unzipped region rapidly decays due to the fluid volume [30,31]. Therefore, the capacitance as a
function of the zip angle is Equation (5), where le is the length of the zipped portion of the electrode
defined by Equation (6), in which A is the volume of the fluid pouch and L p is the arc length of the
undeformed pouch [31]. Then, the theoretical electrical energy that the HASEL can produce between
any two zip angles α0 and α1 is given by Equation (7).
ϵs
C (α) = w le ( α ) (5)
2t s
2Aα2
le ( α ) = L p − (6)
α − sin α cos α
1
Ee,T (α0 , α1 ) = (C (α1 ) − C (α0 ))V 2 (7)
2

2.2. Energy Generation Method

This study evaluates a CV method to characterize the HASEL’s energy generation capability. The
CV method is a triangular energy harvesting method, so-called because the cycle creates a triangle
in the charge-voltage plane, Figure 2a, bounded by the maximum and minimum capacitance and
dielectric breakdown limit [2,33]. In the QV plane, the capacitance extrema form the left and bottom
limits of the cycle, where the slope of the diagonal lines is the inverse of capacitance, 1/C. The dielectric
breakdown limit informs the maximum voltage that can be applied. The area enclosed by these limits
is the maximum energy that the HASEL electrical generator can produce, e.g., the shaded region in
Figure 2a. The CV method was chosen for this study due to its high energy density and simplicity of
implementation. Also known as a charge pump, this method forces current to flow from the HASEL
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when its capacitance decreases under constant voltage. The proposed HASEL CV energy harvesting
method has three steps, visualized in Figure 2:

1. Priming Phase (A-B): Apply priming voltage to the HASEL using a precharged in-parallel capacitor.
Applying the priming voltage causes the HASEL electrodes to zip together and increase the
capacitance.
2. Generation Phase (B-C): While held at constant voltage, stretch the HASEL to decrease the capaci-
tance and generate charge that flows onto the in-parallel capacitor.
3. Discharge Phase (C-A): Disconnect the HASEL from the in-parallel capacitor and discharge the
HASEL to ground at the lowest capacitance state.

(b) Schematic of the energy harvesting cycle steps for

the HASEL.
(a) QV diagram of proposed energy harvesting process.
Figure 2. Proposed energy harvesting method through the constant-voltage (CV) process. During the
Priming Phase (A-B), the HASEL is charged to the priming voltage, and the electrodes zip together. In
the Generation Phase (B-C), the HASEL is held at CV, and an applied force unzips the electrodes. The
HASEL is returned to null voltage while force is applied in the Discharge Phase (C-A). Then, the force
subsides to reset the cycle.

HASEL transducers are unique among dielectric fluid transducers because the dielectric fluid
is contained in a constant-volume pouch rather than pumped between a reservoir and the device
[30]. HASEL’s constant-volume pouch is beneficial because it eliminates viscous losses from pumping
fluid through valves. However, it introduces a challenge for generation because the typical priming
stage for electrostatic transducers is not applicable. Typically, the capacitance is increased at null
voltage, and then the priming voltage is applied. A HASEL’s electrodes cannot be brought together to
increase capacitance without an applied voltage because the fluid cannot be removed from between
the electrodes independently. The proposed CV process for HASELs involves zipping and priming
simultaneously to produce the curved side of the triangle in the QV diagram shown in Figure 2a. As a
result, the curved triangle has less area than that of the typical process (straight-edged triangle), in
which priming occurs at a constant, maximum capacitance.

2.3. Energy Generation Experimental Platform

The energy generated with the proposed CV method was calculated by measuring the voltage
throughout the energy harvesting cycle for varying priming voltages (3, 4, 5, and 6 kV) and applied
forces generated by hanging weight (2, 5, 10, and 20 N). The experimental platform used to characterize
HASEL energy harvesting performance is shown in Figure 3. This study used a two-pouch Peano-
HASEL contracting actuator purchased from Artimus Robotics. The manufacturer’s rated unrestricted
stroke is 1.6 mm, and the maximum force (at zero stroke) is 15 N [32]. The maximum and minimum
capacitance of the HASEL used in this study were measured as Cmax = 536 pF and Cmin = 45 pF using
a Keysight E4990A Impedance Analyzer. The exact capacitance range of every HASEL varies due to
minor differences caused during manufacturing processes.
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(a) Energy harvesting test platform (b) Diagram

Figure 3. Experimental setup to measure HASEL electricity generation performance. A frame suspends
a HASEL, weight is applied through pulleys, and deformation is measured with a laser doppler
vibrometer (LDV) via a mirror. The laser path is shown as a red line. A nylon line (highlighted in white)
connects the applied weight to the HASEL via a series of pulleys.

Constant weights were applied to unzip the HASEL during the Generation Phase (B-C in Figure
2). The weights were applied through several pulleys to prevent out-of-plane forces and movement
interference. Displacement was measured with a Polytec VibroFlex Neo VFX-I-110 single-point
laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) with a 45◦ mirror, which deflects the beam to measure the vertical
displacement. The HASEL and mirror were fixed to a floating-top optical table to prevent external
vibration from interfering with the LDV measurement. Each generation cycle was repeated N = 10
times, and the mean voltages and displacements were used to calculate the electrical energy generated
and the mechanical work that was expended.
The energy harvesting circuit used in this study, shown in Figure 4, was adapted from a CV circuit
used to characterize a pumping dielectric fluid transducer [17]. High voltage Vs was supplied by a Pico
5VV10-P amplifier, which required a preload resistor in parallel with the supply (R preload = 250 MΩ),
and a load resistor (R1 = 15 MΩ), to stabilize the output. High voltage control was achieved through
high-voltage reed relays S1, S2, and S3 (Sensata-Cynergy3 DAT72415P), switched using a dSpace
MicroLabBox real-time machine. To implement the CV method, an in-parallel capacitor, C p , both
applies the priming voltage to the HASEL and stores the generated electricity which leaves the HASEL.
The in-parallel capacitor (C p = 4.7 nF) was chosen to be at least ten times larger than the HASEL’s Cmax
to approximate a CV cycle [2]. Resistors R1 , R2 , and R3 (where R2 = R3 = 2 MΩ) limit the transient
peak current to the instrumentation limits when switching occurs.

Figure 4. The high-voltage control circuit that implements a CV energy harvesting cycle. The energy
generation of the HASEL is monitored by measuring the voltage on the in-parallel capacitor, Vc .

To monitor the voltage on the in-parallel capacitor, Vc , throughout the energy harvesting cycle, a
6000:1 voltage divider was created with a Fluke 80K-40 high-voltage probe. The in-parallel capacitor
voltage was measured instead of the HASEL directly to mitigate the capacitor discharging through
the probe and interfering with the measurement. Because C p has much higher capacitance than the
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HASEL, the RC time constant, Equation (8), was large enough relative to the cycling period to have a
negligible effect.
τ = RC (8)

The voltages at states A, B, and C—between the phases in the energy harvesting cycle described
in Section 2.2—were used to calculate the generated energy. The generation cycles were approximately
0.5 s long, and the HASEL was allowed to rest in the discharged state between cycles to control for
the effect of cycling frequency. A representative plot of the voltage on the in-parallel capacitor, C p , is
shown in Figure 5. Before the cycle, C p was charged to the nominal priming voltage, VA = Vs ≈ 4
kV, with the high-voltage power supply. Then, C p was connected to the HASEL to apply the priming
voltage, and the in-parallel capacitor and HASEL reached the same voltage, VB . During the Generation
Phase (B-C), the HASEL and C p have the same voltage, which rises to VC when the HASEL is stretched
by the weight because the HASEL capacitance decreases. The voltage has negative drift after state C
because charges were lost to the measurement circuit; these errors were corrected in the data analysis
by adding the voltage discharged through the measurement resistor, Vadd = VB e−t/( R probe C p ) .

Figure 5. Representative voltage on the in-parallel capacitor for a single generation cycle. Voltage
drops when C p primes the HASEL at t = 10 s. During the Generation Phase (B-C), the voltage on
C p and that on the HASEL are equal, and they rise together. The initial C p voltage, VA , voltage after
priming, VB , and voltage after generation, VC , are extracted from the plot to calculate the net energy
generated. Negative drift after generation is due to charge losses to the measurement resistor.

The average voltage at each state was used to generate an experimental QV plot, as shown in
Figure 2a, and to calculate the electrical energy, Ee . The charge held on the HASEL at each state was
calculated using the relationship between a capacitor’s voltage, charge, and capacitance: Q = CV.
However, because the instantaneous capacitance of the HASEL is unknown during the cycle, the
charge was computed relative to C p . The charge on the HASEL after priming, Q B , equals the number of
charges moved off the in-parallel capacitor during the Priming Phase (A-B); see Equation (9). Likewise,
the charge pumped from the HASEL onto the in-parallel capacitor during the Generation Phase (B-C),
∆Q, equals the charge that was accumulated on C p ; see Equation (10). Then, the charge on the HASEL
at state C is the difference between the charge held after priming and the charges moved by generation;
see Equation (11).

Q B = C p (VA − VB ) (9)
∆Q = C p (VC − VB ) (10)
QC = Q B − ∆Q (11)
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An experimental QV diagram was created for each applied weight using the measured voltages
VB and VC , and the charge on the HASEL was calculated with Equation (9) and Equation (11). Then, the
net energy generated by the HASEL was calculated by summing the energy consumed or generated in
each phase according to (12). The electrical energies consumed or generated in each phase were found
by numerical integration in the QV plane using the measured values, e.g., the energy used to prime
R
the HASEL is Ee,( A− B) = VB Q B dQ. The analytic expression for converted electricity, Equation (7),
cannot be used with the experimental data because the instantaneous capacitance of the HASEL is
unknown during the energy harvesting cycle; the maximum capacitance depends on the priming
voltage, and the minimum depends on the applied weight. Further, note that in this study, the output
electrical energy was returned to the in-parallel priming capacitor, measured, and discharged via a
grounding electrode. In an energy harvesting device made from HASELs, the charges moved during
the Generation Phase could be diverted to power an electric load or stored in some form of energy
storage device.
Ee = −Ee,( A− B) + Ee,( B−C) + Ee,(C− A) (12)

2.4. HASEL Constitutive Relation Experimental Platform

The HASEL was also tested to determine the constitutive relations between voltage, stroke
(displacement), and force. An experimental platform was created to provide force measurements of
the HASEL at different points along the stroke for different priming voltages. The setup consists of
a uniaxial tensile actuator with a load cell and a high-voltage power supply. Figure 6a shows the
experimental platform used to analyze the HASEL constitutive relations. The platform consists of a
stepper motor and ball screw to provide the uniaxial tension and a 3D-printed adaptable mounting to
accommodate different transducers. A load cell is mounted in line with the HASEL to measure the
applied force. All force data were collected through a LabView cRIO. Measuring very low capacitance
at high voltages directly is a challenge due to small RC time constants and coarse resolution with very
high resistance probes. The HASEL’s voltage was monitored through an oscilloscope and a custom
high-voltage circuit that was designed to measure components with low capacitance values (pF range)
at high voltage (1-10 kV), as shown in Figure 6b.

(a) Uniaxial test platform (b) High-voltage circuit diagram

Figure 6. Experimental platform for the constitutive testing of HASELs. (a) Testing rig to apply
prescribed displacements while measuring force. A six-pouch HASEL is pictured; however, the 2-
pouch HASEL pictured in Figure 1 was used during testing.The leads from the high-voltage circuit are
attached to the contacts. (b) The high-voltage circuit diagram shows voltage dividers for the attached
probes to protect them from high voltage and the VR probe in series with the HASEL (capacitor).
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3. Results

3.1. Charge-Voltage Relationship During Energy Harvesting Cycle

The QV diagram compiled for the experiments using the largest weight, 2 kg, is shown in Figure 7.
The net energy, i.e., the shaded area in Figure 7a, is bounded by two curves defined by the charges
and voltages measured after the Priming and Generation Phases for the different applied voltages
(3, 4, 5, 6 kV). A least-squares quadratic trendline, VB = −0.184Q2B + 1.85Q B (R2 = 0.98), shows
the priming Q B − VB relationship and highlights the curve induced by the HASEL priming and
zipping simultaneously. The QC − VC relationship was best fit by a logarithmic least squares trendline,
VC = 1.04 ln ( QC ) + 3.56 (R2 = 0.97), chosen because capacitors discharge according to the exponential
law Q = CVe−t/RC .

(a) Net energy

(b) Priming Phase energy (c) Generation and Discharge Phase energy
Figure 7. The QV diagram of a HASEL under a 2 kg load. (a) The net energy generated over the entire
energy harvesting cycle, with the shaded gray area representing this net gain. (b) Energy spent in the
“Priming Phase”—where the area under the priming curve represents the initial energy required for the
cycle. (c) “Generation and Discharge Phases”—shown by the areas under the generation and discharge
lines. The red-shaded area shows the difference between the observed and theoretical minimum charge
before discharge, highlighting energy output in these phases.
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The net energy is the difference between the energy spent in the Priming Phase and the energy
that leaves the HASEL during the Generation and Discharge Phases. The energy spent during the
Priming Phase, −Ee,( A− B) , is the area under the priming curve shown in Figure 7b. The energy used in
the Priming Phase is negative in the net energy calculation Equation (12). The positive contributions
to net energy are the areas under the Generation and Discharge curves, Ee,( B−C) + Ee,(C− A) , shown
in Figure 7c. The area shaded in red is the difference between the observed charge at the end of the
Generation Phase (B-C) and the expected charge at the HASEL’s minimum capacitance, Q = Cmin V,
where Cmin = 45 pF.
The difference between the ideal low-capacitance discharge and the observed discharge means
fewer charges were moved during the Generation Phase than were expected, indicating charge leakage
loss in the experimental platform. The charge held on the HASEL before the Discharge Phase, QC , was
calculated from the charge moved to C p during the Generation Phase. Because the HASEL was not
measured directly due to challenges described in Section 2.3, the true discharge amount is likely less
than that reported in this study, QC,true < QC . The reported value assumes that there is a significant
charge left on the HASEL after the Generation Phase, which is recovered in the Discharge Phase, and
that the charge leakage losses highlighted in red do not affect QC . If the charge leaked during the
Generation Phase, then QC,true would be further to the left (without contributing to a larger green
area), and the orange area would be reduced. However, these losses are not quantifiable with this
study’s experimental platform.

3.2. Net Energy Generation Performance

The mean electrical energy generated by the CV energy harvesting cycle for priming voltages
and applied weights is presented in Figure 8 The net energy produced, shown in Figure 8a, increased
quadratically with increasing applied voltage following the quadratric trend predicted by the analytic
model (Equation (4)). The net energy increased linearly with applied weight. The net energy generated
is up to 69% of the theoretical maximum calculated using Equation (4) (3 kV priming voltage, 2 kg
applied mass). The maximum energy generated was 5.0 ± 0.36 mJ per cycle (6 kV priming voltage, 2
kg applied mass) which corresponds with an energy density of 2 mJ mL−1 per volume of the HASEL
pouches. The volume of the HASEL’s mounting plates was not included in the volume for generality
because HASELs with other pouch configurations may be used in an application.
The energy generated during the Generation Phase, Ee,( B−C) , and Discharge Phase, Ee,(C− A) ,
increase quadratically with voltage for all weights, as shown in Figure 8b (R2 = 0.99). Greater applied
force linearly increases the amount of electricity during the Generation Phase (R2 = 0.98). Energy
consumed during the Priming Phase, Ee,( A− B) , also increases quadratically with voltage, as shown in
Figure 8c (R2 = 0.99). Unlike the other two phases, the energy used during priming is independent of
weight because the HASEL was allowed to contract under free conditions.
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(a) Net energy per cycle

(b) Energy generated (c) Energy consumed

Figure 8. Net, positive, and negative energy through HASEL generator for entire energy harvesting
cycle as a function of the priming voltage for different applied weights: (a) Net energy generated by the
HASELs as a function of priming voltage and applied weight compared with the analytic maximum; (b)
positive energy is the sum of the Generation Phase and Discharge Phase energy: Ee,( B−C) + Ee,(C− A) ;
(c) negative energy is consumed in the Priming Phase: −Ee,( A− B) .

3.3. Efficiency is Nonlinear with Mechanical Input

The mechanical efficiency was calculated as the ratio of the output electrical energy to the input
mechanical work, Equation (13). The net electrical energy, Ee , was calculated with Equation (12). The
mechanical work, Em , was calculated with Equation (14), where mg is the applied weight and ∆x is
the distance traveled during the Generation Phase as the HASEL is unzipped, measured with the
LDV. A Pareto frontier plot of mechanical efficiency versus net electrical energy, Figure 9, visualizes
the trade-offs between those competing objectives. This plot shows all tested weight and voltage
combinations to form the space of realized efficiency and energy density performance. Mechanical
efficiency was greatest at high voltage with low applied weight, but larger weights produced more
net energy generation. The analytic model presented in Section 2 defines the boundary of the Pareto
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frontier shown in Figure 9 and captures the tradeoff between mechanical efficiency and net energy
generation.

Ee
ν= (13)
Em
Em = mg∆x (14)

Figure 9. Mechanical efficiency of HASEL electricity generation. The dashed line is the Pareto frontier,
which defines the analytic boundary of optimal performance and the feasible region (under the
curve). Two operational regions can be identified: "high efficiency–low power" and "high power–low
efficiency."

The Pareto frontier is curved because the HASEL’s capacitance and force are nonlinear with stroke.
The capacitance-stroke relationship derived from the analytic model and the force-stroke curves
measured using the experimental platform in Section 2.4 for the HASEL used in this study are shown
in Figure 10. The nonlinear relationship between capacitance and stroke is defined analytically in
Equations (5)–(6). The electrical energy produced is linearly dependent on the change in capacitance—
see Equation (7)—leading to a nonlinear relationship between energy generated and stroke. In the
experiments, the change in capacitance for an energy harvesting cycle is driven by both the priming
voltage, which sets the initial zipped displacement—closer to x = 0, as shown in Figure 1b—and the
applied weight, which stretches the HASEL to its final position. The force required to unzip the HASEL
increases nonlinearly with stroke, leading to a nonlinear relationship between mechanical work and
stroke. Each priming voltage creates its respective constitutive curve in the force-stroke plane, where
higher voltage also requires more pulling force to unzip.
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Figure 10. Capacitance as a function of displacement as the HASEL unzips. The HASEL’s capacitance
has the highest sensitivity to displacement near its fully unzipped state. The line is the result of the
analytic model.

Note that the analytic model Equation (7) also reveals the intuitive result that a larger force creates
a larger net energy up to a critical value. After the force meets the requirement to fully unzip the
HASEL, no greater force will produce more energy. The critical force was not exceeded in this study
because the maximum applied mechanical work (71 mJ) was less than the critical force predicted by
the analytic model (141 mJ).
The Pareto frontier can inform the operating condition for a particular application depending
on what is more desirable: energy density or mechanical efficiency. These results describing the
mechanistic relationships governing mechanical efficiency highlight the importance of HASEL’s elec-
tromechanical characteristics in maximizing generation performance. Indeed, these characteristics may
be combined with HASEL’s self-sensing capability to enable greater energy-conversion effectiveness in
an overall generator device made from HASELs via active control schemes.

4. Conclusion
This study quantifies the ability of HASEL transducers to convert mechanical energy into electrical
energy. While HASELs were initially developed to mimic the flexibility and functionality of biological
muscles for soft robotics actuation, this research shifts the focus of HASEL usage into the realm of
electricity generation, exploring the “reverse power flow" that converts mechanically induced HASEL
deformation into electricity generation. Through a combination of analytic modeling and experimental
evaluation, the study provides a foundational understanding of the characteristics of commercially
available HASEL actuators to be used as electrical generators.
This study adopted an analytic model to describe a HASEL’s actuator performance and predict
its electrical generation capability. Then, a HASEL generator’s performance was experimentally
determined using a high-voltage CV energy harvesting platform created for this study. The energy
generated and mechanical energy input for a single energy harvesting cycle were calculated for various
applied forces and priming voltages. This study’s results demonstrate that a commercially available,
two-pouch Peano-HASEL generates up to 5.2 mJ per cycle, corresponding to an energy density of
approximately 2.0 mJ cm−3 per cycle with the proposed CV generation method. The HASEL captured
up to 70% of the maximum electrical energy predicted by the analytic model and exhibited up to
23% mechanical efficiency. The findings confirm that HASELs, even in their conventional actuator-
manufactured form, can effectively generate electricity when their energy conversion mechanism is
reversed.
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Future studies may investigate whether other energy harvesting cycles, such as constant current
or constant electric field, may generate more energy. This study experimentally demonstrates HASELs
as energy generators for the first time, with further research needed to analyze their performance more
comprehensively. Moreover, this study highlights the significant potential for improving the efficiency
of HASELs’ electricity generation if HASELs were specifically designed and manufactured for this
purpose. Note that the relationship between the priming voltage, applied force, and total change in
capacitance dictates the HASEL’s energy harvesting efficiency. Although this study used rectangular
Peano-HASELs, future studies may investigate other pouch shapes and electrode coverage to change
the capacitance-displacement relationship and alter the efficient operating conditions. Comparisons
of HASELs to other variable-capacitance-based electrical generators may reveal whether the energy
losses incurred by simultaneous zipping and priming are comparable to the viscous losses of pumping
dielectric fluidic generators. Furthermore, integrating the HASEL into a larger energy-converting
structure will need to be considered for individual devices. This consideration suggests a much broader
application and utility for HASELs in the field of "smart and adaptable energy generation" beyond
their initial scope in soft robotics.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, Isabel Hess, Stephen Chamot, Patrick Musgrave, and Blake Boren;
Methodology, Isabel Hess, Stephen Chamot, Patrick Musgrave, and Blake Boren; Software, Isabel Hess and
Stephen Chamot; Validation, Isabel Hess and Stephen Chamot; Formal Analysis, Isabel Hess, Stephen Chamot,
Patrick Musgrave, and Blake Boren; Investigation, Isabel Hess and Stephen Chamot; Resources, Patrick Musgrave
and Blake Boren; Data Curation, Isabel Hess and Stephen Chamot; Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Blake
Boren, Isabel Hess, Stephen Chamot, and Patrick Musgrave; Writing – Review and Editing, Blake Boren, Isabel
Hess, Stephen Chamot, and Patrick Musgrave; Visualization, Isabel Hess and Stephen Chamot; Supervision, Blake
Boren and Patrick Musgrave; Project Administration, Patrick Musgrave and Blake Boren; Funding Acquisition,
Blake Boren and Patrick Musgrave. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This work was authored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, operated by Alliance for
Sustainable Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under contract no. DE-AC36-08GO28308.
Funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Water
Power Technologies Office. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE
or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government retains, and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication,
acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish
or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.
Data Availability Statement: The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article. Further
inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author(s).
Acknowledgments: We sincerely thank Dr. Shuo Wang, Yuiri Yang, and Yanwen Lai (Electrical and Computer
Engineering, University of Florida) for their invaluable contributions to the electrical experimental platform and
for measuring the impedance of the HASELs. The authors also acknowledge and give thanks for the vision,
advocacy, and support of Jochem Weber (Chief Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory).
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the study’s design, in
the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the
results.

Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript:

HASEL Hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic

DEG Dielectric elastomer generator
DEA Dielectric elastomer actuator
HexDEEC Hexagonal distributed embedded energy converter
LDV Laser Doppler vibrometer
CV Constant voltage
QV Charge voltage

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