Modeling and Simulation of Viscoelastic Soft Materials for Soft Robotic Applications
Abstract
This study presents numerical simulations of deformations and shape changes in soft and flexible systems suitable for soft robotics structures. The compliant nature of soft materials, such as silicone elastomer, rubber and PDMS, makes them appealing for soft robotic applications. In some applications, such as surgical devices, precise controls of shape reconfigurations are necessary. To achieve high precision motion in soft robots, it requires incorporating detailed material responses in simulation the shape reconfigurations in soft robots. In this study, we formulate a constitutive model for nonlinear viscoelastic response of soft materials. Both isotropic and anisotropic responses are considered. The constitutive model is implemented within user material subroutines (UMAT) within ABAQUS finite element analysis. Finite element is then used to simulate and investigate the response of the soft robotics devices, such as pneumatic soft actuators and micro-hands. Furthermore, an investigation of soft composites comprising of elastic fiber and nonlinear viscoelastic matrix for potential applications in soft robots is presented. Parametric studies are carried out to obtain a better understanding of the design of soft composites.
Citation
Qu, Jian (2020). Modeling and Simulation of Viscoelastic Soft Materials for Soft Robotic Applications. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /191827.