Design and Development of a New Bio-Mimetic Actuator Simulating the Natural Human Muscle Performance

Abstract

In this chapter, the results of the two alternative designs of the actuator performance, the possible actuator configurations, the 4x4 muscle like actuator chain, and control strategy for all given actuator configurations are discussed, summarized, and evaluated in order to fulfill the research objectives. The Thesis conclusions are listed and explained. Also, the recommendations for further study and future work are given. 6.2 Research Findings 6.2.1 Hydrogel-IPMC Actuator Results Analysis The proposed hydrogel-IPMC actuator is operated by means of an autonomous B-Z chemical reaction, which enables the operating cycle to be repeated without any external control. The operating cycle of the actuator has a fixed value of 60 seconds due to chemical reaction parameters controlling the hydrogel wave. The start and duration of the given signal can be controlled by the mechanical design for a fixed value according to the switching point location inside the slider. Referring to chapter 3, for a complete operating cycle, a single module actuator with one actuating element provides a displacement of 3.5 mm for 15 seconds and a maximum force of 1.4x10-3 N at 4 volts input signal. The time gap can be filled by another operating module. Although the actuation cycle can be repeated autonomously, there is a difficulty to control the duration time since it needs to control the chemical reaction parameters. This was the motivation to find a faster switching element to minimize the preparation time.