Dynamic Analysis and Cascade Movement Simulation of a Pneumatic Muscle Actuator

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present a dynamic analysis and a cascade movement simulation of a Pneumatic Muscle Actuator (PMA). PMAs are highly non–linear pneumatic actuators where their elongation are proportional to the interval pressure. Their non–linear characteristics and the property of the hysteresis are posing several difficulties in simulating these pneumatic actuators and to obtain a comprehension of the PMA’s physical movement. In this article a novel detailed modeling, based on hardware in the loop simulation studies, capable to describe the dynamic characteristic of the PMA and a detailed simulation environment for studying the cascade movement of PMAs will be presented.