Flow chart for numerical prediction of electrothermal breakdown.  Dielectric elastomers are being developed for use in actuators, sensors and generators to be used in various applications, such as artificial eye lids 1 , stretch sensors 2 and human motion energy generators 3 [see fig 1].  For maximum efficiency, the devices are operated at high electrical fields which increases the likelihood for electrical breakdown significantly.  Thermal effects that may lead to electrical breakdown in thin PDMS film will be modeled. We assume the effect of temperature on electrical breakdown of thin PDMS film is different from polypropylene film as investigated by Xiaoguang et al. (2003) 4.  The main difference is that the PDMS elastomer is chemically crosslinked and thus the Young's modulus will not decrease with temperature as for the thermoplastic