Structural Characteristics of a Conical-Frustum-Patterned Stretchable Heater in an External-Force Environment.

Stretchable heaters are mechanically and biomedically advantageous because they are more flexible than the conventional microheaters. To determine the way that a heater can be used appropriately in a wide range of application fields, studies on the mechanical and thermal characteristics regarding various film configurations are underway. In this study, the mechanical characteristics of conical-frustum-patterned stretchable heaters with various configurations with upper-radius (R1), bottom-radius (R2), and height (h) aspect ratios were numerically investigated when tensile forces and bending moments were applied to the film of heater. The temperature and von Mises stress of the film were analyzed using the commercial software COMSOL ver. 5.2. The structural characteristics of a conical-frustum-patterned stretchable heater were evaluated under external load, and results are graphically depicted.