Topology-Optimized Pneumatic Soft Actuator: Design and Experimental Validation

TL;DR

This paper presents a computational approach using nonlinear topology optimization to design and experimentally validate 3D soft pneumatic actuators with maximized bending response.

Contribution

It extends a topology optimization framework from 2D to 3D and demonstrates its effectiveness in designing manufacturable soft actuators.

Findings

Optimized designs achieved higher bending responses under prescribed pressures.

Experimental validation confirmed the performance of the 3D printed actuators.

The framework accounts for large deformations during optimization.

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the computational design of soft elastomeric pneumatic actuators using nonlinear topology optimization. An existing density- and porohyperelasticity-based topology optimization framework was extended from 2D to 3D and used to generate two manufacturable actuator designs, which were then studied numerically and experimentally. For both designs, the objective was to maximize the bending response for a prescribed actuation pressure under two different allowable strain limits. A key advantage of the employed topology optimization framework is that it can consistently, during the optimization, account for the very large deformations induced upon pressurization. The two optimized 3D designs were fabricated using stereolithography and experimentally tested to validate their performance.