DETERMINATION OF HYPER-ELASTIC MATERIAL PARAMETERS AND AUTOMATIC COMPUTATION FOR THE SOFT-ROBOTIC GRIPPER

Abstract

The article presents a method for the determination of hyper-elastic material
parameters and automatic structural computation of the soft-robotic gripper. The
Yeoh constitutive model is used to describe the mechanical properties of hyperelastic materials for fabricating soft fingers. Material properties are identified by
using tensile experiments of the work-pieces. The Python-Abaqus/CAE script for
automatic calculation of the soft-finger is developed. The proposed method allows
estimating the effect of geometric parameters on gripper curvature quickly and
smoothly. The similarity between soft finger bending angles obtained by
simulation and experiment demonstrates the correctness of the found material
parameters and the developed program. The research results play a meaningful
role in the optimization design of soft gripper.