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About

Demin Zhao’s research lies at the intersection of smart materials, nonlinear dynamics, and robotics, with a primary focus on dielectric elastomers (DEs) for energy harvesting and actuation. His most cited work, “Vibration investigation of conical dielectric elastomer thin membrane for energy harvesting system” (2023, 11 citations), establishes a comprehensive vibration model for conical DE membranes, experimentally validating output voltage while analyzing how geometric parameters influence dynamic behavior—a critical step toward efficient wave energy harvesters and soft robots. Zhao further advances DE theory by incorporating fractional viscoelasticity into conical structure analysis (2025, 2 citations), offering a more accurate description of the material’s non-Newtonian behavior. Beyond soft materials, he tackles robust control for constrained robotic manipulators, proposing a finite-time motion/force control scheme using terminal sliding mode to handle external disturbances and modeling uncertainties (2014, 3 citations). His work on forced vibration of bubble spring-mass systems (2019, 3 citations) demonstrates versatility in nonlinear dynamics. Through experimental validation and novel modeling approaches, Zhao bridges theoretical mechanics with practical applications, positioning him as a rising contributor to intelligent soft material systems and robotic control.