Granular jamming for soft robotics: experiments and modelling of cyclic loading

IF 4.4 3区工程技术 Q1 ENGINEERING, CIVIL

Archives of Civil and Mechanical Engineering Pub Date : 2025-04-03 DOI:10.1007/s43452-025-01176-9

Piotr Bartkowski, Marta Ciemiorek, Hubert Bukowiecki, Piotr Bomba, Robert Zalewski

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The rapid development of research on innovative soft robots has been observed in recent years. Most of these robots are equipped with mechanisms that enable adaptive stiffness changes. Although various physical effects facilitate this capability, one of the most intriguing is undoubtedly the granular jamming phenomenon. Structures based on this effect consist of granules enclosed within an elastomer sleeve, with stiffness controlled by vacuum pressure. This work focuses on investigating the properties of such structures subjected to cyclic loading under different stress states. We conducted a wide range of empirical tests under various loading conditions, including compression, tension, and bending. Based on this research, a constitutive equation was proposed to describe this phenomenon. The model was implemented into commercial finite element (FE) software, and numerical predictions were validated with empirical results. Finally, a new concept for a soft robotic gripper utilizing granular jamming as a stiffening mechanism was proposed and tested.

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来源期刊

Archives of Civil and Mechanical Engineering 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

6.80

自引率

9.10%

发文量

201

审稿时长

4 months

期刊介绍： Archives of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (ACME) publishes both theoretical and experimental original research articles which explore or exploit new ideas and techniques in three main areas: structural engineering, mechanics of materials and materials science. The aim of the journal is to advance science related to structural engineering focusing on structures, machines and mechanical systems. The journal also promotes advancement in the area of mechanics of materials, by publishing most recent findings in elasticity, plasticity, rheology, fatigue and fracture mechanics. The third area the journal is concentrating on is materials science, with emphasis on metals, composites, etc., their structures and properties as well as methods of evaluation. In addition to research papers, the Editorial Board welcomes state-of-the-art reviews on specialized topics. All such articles have to be sent to the Editor-in-Chief before submission for pre-submission review process. Only articles approved by the Editor-in-Chief in pre-submission process can be submitted to the journal for further processing. Approval in pre-submission stage doesn''t guarantee acceptance for publication as all papers are subject to a regular referee procedure.