Abstract
This article presents the development of a self-bending contraction actuator (SBCA) through the analysis of its structure, kinematics, and torque formulas, and then explores its applications. The proposed actuator has been fabricated by two methods to prove the efficiency of the human body inspiration, which represents the covering of human bones by soft tissues to protect the bone and give the soft texture. The SBCA provides bending behaviour along with a high force-to-weight ratio. As with the simple pneumatic muscle actuator (PMA), the SBCA is soft and easy to implement. Both the kinematics and the torque formula presented for the SBCA are scalable and can be used with different actuator sizes. The bending actuator has been tested under an air pressure of up to 500 kPa, and the behaviour of its bending angle, parameters, dimensions, and the bending torques have been illustrated. On the other hand, the experiments showed the efficient performances of the actuator and validate the proposed kinematics. Therefore, the actuator can be used in many different applications, such as soft grippers and continuum arms.
Highlights
For various reasons, during the last two decades, researchers have focused their attention on developing new actuators for industrial, medical and academic use
For measuring the bending force, a load is attached to the end of the self-bending contraction actuator (SBCA) and the load is increased until the bending angle becomes zero at maximum air pressure (500 kPa)
The inserted between the braided mesh and the inner tube establishes the bending behaviour and provides a high flexible rod between the braided mesh and the inner tube establishes the bending behaviour and payload in comparison with the actuator’s weight
Summary
For various reasons, during the last two decades, researchers have focused their attention on developing new actuators for industrial, medical and academic use. Contraction behaviour occurs when θ is less than the critical value, while the higher braided angle creates an extension behaviour for the air muscle [5,6,7]. Reference [16] utilised the impact of the braided angle by using two different braided angles of the braided mesh for the contractor muscle actuator to develop the bending performance. The behaviour of the soft muscle is either contraction or extension, and it is defined by the construction of the actuator and its dimensions. The size for both the inner rubber tube and the braided cover mesh defines the initial length L0 and initial diameter D0 for the PMA.
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