Multiphysics Simulation Evaluation of Motion Control of a Soft Robotic Arm

Zuzartee, Alden Gregory (2020) Multiphysics Simulation Evaluation of Motion Control of a Soft Robotic Arm. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effects of various design parameters on the actuation performance of a pneumatic network actuator (PNA), optimise its structure using the finite element method (FEM). The effects of the structural parameters, including the operation pressure, the wall thickness and the geometry of the channel cross section, on the deformation and bending angle of the actuator were evaluated to optimise the performance of the pneumatic actuator. Simulation using ANSYS was performed to investigate how the variables affect the mechanical output of the actuator and, thus, the significance of variables affecting the deformation (and bending angle) of the pneumatic actuator was identified. Those variables are the shape of the air cavity, thickness of the cavity to the wall and the input pressure. After the parameter optimisation, a uniform variable pressure of 2.5 kPa, 5.0 kPa, 7.5 kPa and 10kPa was applied to investigate bending motion for the pneumatic network actuator. The results show that as the pressure in the cavity increases the bending also increases. With this relationship, a linear graph was formed to show that the applied pressure and bending angle is directly proportional to one another. The optimised FE model results were verified by comparing with previous studies done by other people. This design optimisation method based on the FEM analysis can be extended to the topology optimisation of other soft actuators.