Optimization of elephant trunk soft pneumatic actuator using finite element method

Venkatesan, Vishnukumar; Shanmugam, S.; Veerappan, Ar.

doi:10.1108/wje-05-2021-0272

Cited by 5 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Many design characteristics are needed to develop a soft robotic device that can be used to grasp soft materials without damage. The material specifications are used in this study taken from a previous published research paper (Venkatesan et al, 2021a(Venkatesan et al, , 2021b. Table 1 is a summary of the specifications of soft material.…”

Section: Model Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results of FEM analysis are observed in the form of actuator displacement coordinate values. Bending angle u was calculated based on the displacement values with the help of the angle between two nonzero vectors as given in (1) (Venkatesan et al, 2021a(Venkatesan et al, , 2021b.…”

Section: Bend Anglementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many researchers find it difficult to model and anticipate their behavior due to the discontinuity of design structures and materials nonlinearity (Huang et al, 2018;Shi et al, 2022;Verma Atul, 2018;Zolfagharian et al, 2020). For example, Venkatesan et al (2021aVenkatesan et al ( , 2021b and Wang et al (2021) used a finite element method to analyze, model and optimize the design of SPA. In addition, the finite element method could be used to analyze the bending behavior of soft actuators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the finite element method could be used to analyze the bending behavior of soft actuators. In another article (Venkatesan et al, 2021a(Venkatesan et al, , 2021b, they discussed the bend angle prediction of a soft actuator with the external grasping of an object. They compared finite element method (FEM) results with experimental results.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although SPAs are widely recognized for their scalability, adaptability and diversity comprehensive methods have not yet been used in the design, modeling and fabrication of soft actuators. Only limited published literature exists in relation to SPAs regarding the significant details of modeling and simulation of the structural design of a soft actuator (Alici et al, 2018;Venkatesan et al, 2021aVenkatesan et al, , 2021bFelt, 2019;Krishnapriya et al, 2019;Liu et al, 2019). They were analyzed using the basic structure of rectangular sections, folded-tube soft actuators, microcoil based electromagnetic soft actuators, parabolic type soft actuators and elephant trunk shaped soft actuators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Structural analysis of bending soft pneumatic network actuators for various designs using the finite element method

Venkatesan

Shanmugam

A.R.

2022

WJE

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Purpose This paper aims to present the numerical analysis of displacements, forces and bend angles of three different structural designs of a soft actuator using the finite element method. The results of this analysis help understand the physical behavior of the soft pneumatic actuator. Design/methodology/approach The soft actuator is designed using commercial modeling software, and the design of the actuator is analyzed using ABAQUS 19.0 with a standard implicit nonlinear analysis. There are three types of structural designs for actuators, namely, rectangular-base model, trapezoidal-base model and the trapezoidal model considered in the present study. Findings Maximum displacement, force and bend angle are observed in the rectangular-base model at various pressure levels. Originality/value The development of novel designs of the soft pneumatic actuator to undertake a comparative analysis of displacement, force and bend angle.

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Section: Model Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Bend Anglementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Structural analysis of bending soft pneumatic network actuators for various designs using the finite element method

Venkatesan

Shanmugam

A.R.

2022

WJE

Self Cite

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Experimental investigation on enhancement in pure axial deformation of soft pneumatic actuator (SPA) with cap ring reinforcement

Mehta,

Chauhan,

Sanghvi

et al. 2024

Eng. Res. Express

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Bio-inspired soft-robots are nowadays found their place in many applications due to its flexibility, compliance and adaptivity to unstructured environment. The main intricate part of such bio-inspired soft robots are soft pneumatic actuators (SPA) which replicate or mimic the limbs and muscles. The soft actuators are pneumatically actuated and provide bending motion in most cases. However, many engineering and medical applications need axially expanding soft pneumatic actuators to deal with delicate objects. Various studies have put forward designs for SPA with axial deformation, but the majority of them have limited axial deformation, constraining motion and less overall efficacy which limit the scope of utilization. The common practice to enhance the axial deformation of SPA is by incorporating directionally customized reinforcement using fibres or by other means like yarns, fabrics, etc. These types of reinforcements are generally embedded to SPA during fabrication and may not have capability for any correction or modification later on hence lack the customization. This paper presents a novel method of radial reinforcement for the enhancement of axial deformation of SPAs with provision of customization. The present study aims to enhance and/or customize the axial deformation of SPA by incorporating external and detachable reinforcement in the form of annulus shaped cap ring. The investigation encompasses the design and attachment of four distinct cap ring geometries to SPA at different locations. Experimental results affirm that cap ring reinforcement bolster the radial stiffness, curbing lateral deformation while permitting axial deformation of soft pneumatic actuators. Out of 64 distinct configurations, the one with full reinforcement, featuring four cap rings of maximum size, yields a remarkable 169% increase in pure axial deformation compared to unreinforced cases. It is also observed that by varying the number and placement locations of cap rings the pure axial deformation can be customized. This novel insight not only propels soft pneumatic actuation technology but also heralds prospects for highly agile and versatile robotic systems which can be used in medical, prosthetics, pharmaceutical and other industries.

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Structural optimization and parameter investigation of trapezoidal shape soft pneumatic actuator

Vellaiyan,

Bijalwan

et al. 2024

Eng. Res. Express

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This study investigates the effects of actuator design parameters on the performance of developed trapezoidal shaped soft pneumatic actuator, optimizes its geometric structure using the finite element method and validates its performance experimentally. To optimize the soft pneumatic actuator, the effects of structural parameters such as wall thickness, gap between the adjacent chambers, passive layer thickness, width of inside chamber and the bending angle of the actuator were evaluated. Finite Element Analysis is used to determine the displacement variation of actuator with different levels of applied pressures. A Global Analysis of Variance was conducted to determine the influence of variables affecting the displacements of soft pneumatic actuator was determined. The ANOVA results, a geometric actuator with a wall thickness of 1.5 mm, gap between chambers of 4 mm, passive layer thickness of 2 mm and the width of inside chamber of 4 mm is recommended for the actuator to be achieve maximum bending angle. The proposed actuator model can be used to select the suitable actuator for grasping soft objects without deformation. In addition, experiment was conducted to correlate the results with finite element analysis data.

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Optimization of elephant trunk soft pneumatic actuator using finite element method

Cited by 5 publications

References 38 publications

Structural analysis of bending soft pneumatic network actuators for various designs using the finite element method

Structural analysis of bending soft pneumatic network actuators for various designs using the finite element method

Experimental investigation on enhancement in pure axial deformation of soft pneumatic actuator (SPA) with cap ring reinforcement

Structural optimization and parameter investigation of trapezoidal shape soft pneumatic actuator

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