Experimental Investigation of the Mathematical Model for Optimum Holding Force of a Bernoulli Pad

Abstract

Holding force for a climbing robot is of paramount importance and has been intensely investigated in the last decade. Emphasis of this project has been on minimizing energy expenditure, increasing payload and traversing different wall materials. To achieve this two important factors have been identified for pneumatics based holding pads, namely pressure and height from surface. This paper presents the characterisation of these parameters that influence holding force in a Bernoulli pad for the purpose of optimising energy expenditure. An experimental identification of a mathematical model for a Bernoulli principle based holding force is described. Force analysis through experimental verification for a commercially available Bernoulli pad model was done, so as to quantitatively evaluate parameters of the pad to achieve attachment on a wall. Factors that influence the holding force, such as air velocity and height of pad from surface were experimentally investigated and their cause and effect established. The cause and effect of these parameters were confirmed through regression analysis using Matlab R2016a. Close correspondence between the experimental and simulated results indicated that the developed model is accurate enough for design and implementation of an optimum force for climbing robot. The methods proposed in this study are valuable in guiding the design of pneumatic based adhesion devices, such as wall-climbing robots.