内圧により動作するソフトアクチュエータの開発と設計

抄録

In the study, the soft actuator which generated tensile and bending deformations due to internal pressure was developed and designed on the basis of non-linear finite element analysis. The actuator shape was an eccentric cylinder added with stiffeners to generate the deformations efficiently due to air pressure. The optimal shape and distance of the eccentric stiffeners were determined from the results of the finite element analyses. Additionally, the stiffeners were also determined as the eccentric non-circular plates by removing the regions with extreme low equivalent stress from the stiffeners. The soft actuator with the stiffeners was designed according to the considerations of the stiffener shape and distance and manufactured by pouring silicone rubber into the polymer mold made with a three-dimensional printer. The characteristics of the actuator were confirmed by measuring the deformations of the manufactured actuator due to air pressure.