1 School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong , Wollongong, Australia .
2 ARC Center of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, University of Wollongong , Wollongong, Australia .
Soft Robot. 2018 Feb;5(1):24-35. doi: 10.1089/soro.2016.0052. Epub 2017 Oct 12.
In this article, we have established an analytical model to estimate the quasi-static bending displacement (i.e., angle) of the pneumatic actuators made of two different elastomeric silicones (Elastosil M4601 with a bulk modulus of elasticity of 262 kPa and Translucent Soft silicone with a bulk modulus of elasticity of 48 kPa-both experimentally determined) and of discrete chambers, partially separated from each other with a gap in between the chambers to increase the magnitude of their bending angle. The numerical bending angle results from the proposed gray-box model, and the corresponding experimental results match well that the model is accurate enough to predict the bending behavior of this class of pneumatic soft actuators. Further, by using the experimental bending angle results and blocking force results, the effective modulus of elasticity of the actuators is estimated from a blocking force model. The numerical and experimental results presented show that the bending angle and blocking force models are valid for this class of pneumatic actuators. Another contribution of this study is to incorporate a bistable flexible thin metal typified by a tape measure into the topology of the actuators to prevent the deflection of the actuators under their own weight when operating in the vertical plane.
在本文中，我们建立了一个分析模型来估计由两种不同的弹性体硅酮（弹性模数为 262 kPa 的 Elastosil M4601 和弹性模数为 48 kPa 的 Translucent Soft 硅酮——均通过实验确定）和离散腔制成的气动致动器的准静态弯曲位移（即角度），腔室部分彼此隔开，腔室之间留有间隙，以增加其弯曲角度的幅度。所提出的灰箱模型的数值弯曲角度结果与相应的实验结果吻合良好，表明该模型足以准确预测此类气动软致动器的弯曲行为。此外，通过使用实验弯曲角度结果和阻挡力结果，从阻挡力模型估算致动器的有效弹性模量。所呈现的数值和实验结果表明，弯曲角度和阻挡力模型适用于此类气动致动器。本研究的另一个贡献是将以卷尺为代表的双稳态柔性薄金属纳入致动器的拓扑结构中，以防止致动器在垂直平面中运行时因自身重量而发生偏转。
