Simulation study of two chambers soft actuators using MARC

Abstract

The Flexible Actuator (FA) is a type of pneumatic or hydraulic actuator that can bend, stretch, and twist in any direction by controlling the pressure in chambers of the actuator. This project aims to design and compare the thickness of several possible two chambers of soft actuators. The soft actuator is composed of two semicircular chambers and reinforced with fiber from P1-silastic silicon RTV material. The best actuators among these designs will be used to simulate the two actuators. The two actuators will be constructed by connecting two links of actuators in parallel with a thin membrane between links. Finite Element Method (FEM) software - MARC will be used, in which geometrical and material non-linearity are considered, to validate the simulation result. Using MARC, three types of two chambers actuators design will be compared to select the best actuator with biggest bending angle. Next, two links of these actuators will be simulated.