Dielectric insulation are constantly exposed to various stresses, while also being expected to last for long periods of time. Naturally, they degrade with use and in demanding operational environments, this degradation phenomena can be accelerated, leading to costly consequences. With the constant evolution within the vehicle industry, high standards are established. For ignition coils, one of the challenges lies in achieving high performance, with the trade-off being a reduced insulation space. Furthermore, the operation of ignition coils at elevated temperatures could affect the insulation and its capabilities. Thus, it is important to investigate how the dielectric strength of an insulation behaves under these increased temperature conditions and constrained operational space, both in the short and long term. In this master thesis, the primary objective was to ascertain whether the oil would maintain its dielectric strength under prolonged elevated temperatures. The transformer liquid MIDEL 7131 was examined and assessed, through breakdown voltage tests from room temperature and up to temperatures of 140◦C. Subsequently analysing the results using descriptive statistics, employing both Gaussian and Weibull distributions. The observations from these measurements provide more data to the field of liquid dielectrics and allow a better understanding of how the condition and operating environment could affect the dielectric capabilities of transformer oils, with a specific focus on MIDEL 7131. / Dielektrisk insulation utsätts ständigt för diverse påkänningar, samtidigt som dem förväntas vara i drift under en lång tid. Naturligtvis degraderas isolationen efter användning och under krävande arbetsmiljöer, kan denna degradering fenomen acceleras, vilket kan leda till dyra konsekvenser. Med den ständiga utvecklingen inom fordonindustrin, etableras höga standarder. För tändstift, är en av svårigheterna att uppnå hög prestanda, i utbyte mot reducerad insulation utrymme. Dessutom är det möjligt att tändstift i drift under höga temperaturer kan påverka insulationen samt sina förmågor. Det är därför viktigt att undersöka hur dielektrisk styrka hos insulation beter sig vid höga temperaturer och minskat utrymme, både i korta perioder samt i långa. I detta master arbete, var det primära målet att fastställa om oljan skulle upprätthålla sin dielektriska hållfastighet under långa perioder vid höga temperaturer. Transformator oljan MIDEL 7131 undersöktes samt analyserades, genom bland annat tester av genombrottspänningar vid rumstemperatur upp till 140 ◦C. Därefter analyserades resultaten genom Normal- och Weibull fördelning. Observationerna från mätningarna tillhandahåller med mer data till flytande dielektrika området och ger en bättre förståelse om hur tillstånd samt driftmiljö kan påverka den dielektriska hållfastigheten av transformatorolja, med speciell fokus på MIDEL 7131.

Future robotic systems will be pervasive technologies operating autonomously in unknown spaces that are shared with humans. Such complex interactions make it compulsory for them to be lightweight, soft, and efficient in a way to guarantee safety, robustness and long-term operation. This set of qualities can be achieved using soft multipurpose systems that combine, integrate and commute between conventional electromechanical and fluidic drives, as well as harvest energy during inactive actuation phases for increased energy efficiency. Recent research work has shown that dielectric fluids with specific properties, can be combined with stretchable or flexible shell structures made of polymeric dielectric/electrode composite films, to implement a novel type of soft electrically-driven fluidic transducers with self-healing and self-sensing capabilities that take the name of Liquid-based Electro-Active Polymer transducers (LEAPs). These devices are similar to dielectric elastomer transducers in regards to their electrostatic working principle, but they can potentially produce larger displacements due to their lower mechanical stiffness. In this thesis a novel electrostatic transducer is presented; the transducer is made of thin polymer films and liquid dielectrics, combined with rigid stiffening elements to form a circular electrostatic bellow muscle (EBM) unit capable of out-of-plane contraction. These units are easy to manufacture and can be arranged in arrays and stacks that can be employed as contractile artificial muscles, pumps for fluid-driven soft robots, or as energy harvesters. As artificial muscles, EBMs of 20 - 40 millimeters in diameter can exert forces of up to 6 newtons, lift loads over a hundred times their own weight, and reach contractions of over 40 per cent with strain rates over 1200 per cents per second, with a bandwidth over 10 Hz. As pump drivers, EBMs produce flow rates of up 0.63 liters per minute and maximum pressure head of 6 kilopascals, whereas as generators, they reach a conversion efficiency close to 20 per cent. The compact shape, low cost, simple assembling procedure, high reliability and large contractions make the EBM a promising technology for high-performance robotic systems.