Robotic skins inspired by auxetic metamaterials for programmable bending of soft actuators
This paper presents a class of robotic skins inspired by auxetic metamaterials, which enable programmable bending in soft pneumatic actuators. The efficiency of these robotic skins in controlling bending curvature and hoop expansion of the soft actuators is demonstrated through a combination of expe...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024-10-01
|
| Series: | Materials & Design |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127524007093 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850266112610009088 |
|---|---|
| author | Yichen Pu Shengwei Zheng Xinjie Hu Shan Tang Ning An |
| author_facet | Yichen Pu Shengwei Zheng Xinjie Hu Shan Tang Ning An |
| author_sort | Yichen Pu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper presents a class of robotic skins inspired by auxetic metamaterials, which enable programmable bending in soft pneumatic actuators. The efficiency of these robotic skins in controlling bending curvature and hoop expansion of the soft actuators is demonstrated through a combination of experiments and numerical simulations. Parametric studies are then performed to explore how variations in the geometric parameters of the metamaterial skin affect the performance of the bending actuators. Specifically, our study demonstrates that a range of bending curvatures (0.0077 mm−1 to 0.0097 mm−1) and cross-section diameters (38.4 mm to 44.0 mm) can be achieved by adjusting the unit cell numbers of metamaterial skin in the vertical and hoop directions for bending a 2 mm-thickness-walled inflatable cylindrical tube, which is characterized by an initial length of 104.3 mm, an initial cross-section diameter of 29.0 mm, and at an inflation volume of 75 mL. Moreover, a variety of bio-inspired soft actuators exhibiting complex bending behaviors are presented. The work demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed strategy for achieving customized curved bending and shape-morphing by adjusting the geometric parameters and arrangement of the unit cells in the metamaterial skins. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7cedc28b97f74bb2bfc528bbc0f2ee0f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0264-1275 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials & Design |
| spelling | doaj-art-7cedc28b97f74bb2bfc528bbc0f2ee0f2025-08-20T01:54:15ZengElsevierMaterials & Design0264-12752024-10-0124611333410.1016/j.matdes.2024.113334Robotic skins inspired by auxetic metamaterials for programmable bending of soft actuatorsYichen Pu0Shengwei Zheng1Xinjie Hu2Shan Tang3Ning An4Key Laboratory of Advanced Spatial Mechanism and Intelligent Spacecraft, Ministry of Education, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People's Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Advanced Spatial Mechanism and Intelligent Spacecraft, Ministry of Education, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People's Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Advanced Spatial Mechanism and Intelligent Spacecraft, Ministry of Education, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People's Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023, People's Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Advanced Spatial Mechanism and Intelligent Spacecraft, Ministry of Education, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023, People's Republic of China; Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Advanced Spatial Mechanism and Intelligent Spacecraft, Ministry of Education, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People's Republic of China.This paper presents a class of robotic skins inspired by auxetic metamaterials, which enable programmable bending in soft pneumatic actuators. The efficiency of these robotic skins in controlling bending curvature and hoop expansion of the soft actuators is demonstrated through a combination of experiments and numerical simulations. Parametric studies are then performed to explore how variations in the geometric parameters of the metamaterial skin affect the performance of the bending actuators. Specifically, our study demonstrates that a range of bending curvatures (0.0077 mm−1 to 0.0097 mm−1) and cross-section diameters (38.4 mm to 44.0 mm) can be achieved by adjusting the unit cell numbers of metamaterial skin in the vertical and hoop directions for bending a 2 mm-thickness-walled inflatable cylindrical tube, which is characterized by an initial length of 104.3 mm, an initial cross-section diameter of 29.0 mm, and at an inflation volume of 75 mL. Moreover, a variety of bio-inspired soft actuators exhibiting complex bending behaviors are presented. The work demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed strategy for achieving customized curved bending and shape-morphing by adjusting the geometric parameters and arrangement of the unit cells in the metamaterial skins.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127524007093Robotic skinsAuxetic metamaterialsPneumatic actuatorsProgrammable bendingSoft robotics |
| spellingShingle | Yichen Pu Shengwei Zheng Xinjie Hu Shan Tang Ning An Robotic skins inspired by auxetic metamaterials for programmable bending of soft actuators Materials & Design Robotic skins Auxetic metamaterials Pneumatic actuators Programmable bending Soft robotics |
| title | Robotic skins inspired by auxetic metamaterials for programmable bending of soft actuators |
| title_full | Robotic skins inspired by auxetic metamaterials for programmable bending of soft actuators |
| title_fullStr | Robotic skins inspired by auxetic metamaterials for programmable bending of soft actuators |
| title_full_unstemmed | Robotic skins inspired by auxetic metamaterials for programmable bending of soft actuators |
| title_short | Robotic skins inspired by auxetic metamaterials for programmable bending of soft actuators |
| title_sort | robotic skins inspired by auxetic metamaterials for programmable bending of soft actuators |
| topic | Robotic skins Auxetic metamaterials Pneumatic actuators Programmable bending Soft robotics |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127524007093 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yichenpu roboticskinsinspiredbyauxeticmetamaterialsforprogrammablebendingofsoftactuators AT shengweizheng roboticskinsinspiredbyauxeticmetamaterialsforprogrammablebendingofsoftactuators AT xinjiehu roboticskinsinspiredbyauxeticmetamaterialsforprogrammablebendingofsoftactuators AT shantang roboticskinsinspiredbyauxeticmetamaterialsforprogrammablebendingofsoftactuators AT ningan roboticskinsinspiredbyauxeticmetamaterialsforprogrammablebendingofsoftactuators |