This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Davis, S. Articles by Caldwell, D. G. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Braid Effects on Contractile Range and Friction Modeling in Pneumatic Muscle Actuators

Dept. of Electronic Engineering University of Salford Manchester M5 4WT, UK s.davis{at}salford.ac.uk

Darwin G. Caldwell

Dept. of Electronic Engineering University of Salford Manchester M5 4WT, UK d.g.caldwell{at}salford.ac.uk

Within braided pneumatic Muscle Actuators (pMA) the braid structure is vital to the actuator's performance, preventing over-inflation, converting radial expansion into axial contraction and setting limits for both dilation and contraction. This paper seeks to explore the nature of the contractile limit and the hysteresis observed by researchers during the actuation cycle.

Maximum actuator dilation occurs when adjacent braid strands are forced against one another. Within this work this is analyzed mathematically and it is shown that by halving the number of strands used to create the braided shell the actuator's contractile range can be increased by approximately 7%. This also results in a simultaneous peak contractile force increases of over 16%. These results are verified experimentally.

Hysteresis due to friction between braid strands during muscle operation is also explored. The paper will show how consideration of the deformation of the strands allows the contact area and therefore friction to be calculated without the need for experimentally obtained data as in previous research. A mathematical model is produced and verified experimentally.

Key Words: actuators • braided pneumatic Muscle Actuators (pMA) • McKibben muscles • friction • modeling

The International Journal of Robotics Research, Vol. 25, No. 4, 359-369 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0278364906063227


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?