Hyperboloidal Pneumatic Artificial Muscle With Braided Straight Fibers

This letter introduces the development and analysis of a hyperboloidal pneumatic artificial muscle (h-PAM) utilizing braided straight fibers, aimed at overcoming the limitations of traditional pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs). The novel design features a hyperboloidal rubber tube coupled with a braided shell of straight fibers, enhancing both contraction performance and flexibility, a significant advantage particularly for shorter muscles. Through deformation simulations, we have demonstrated that critical performance metrics such as contraction ratio, radius expansion ratio, and contraction force can be effectively tailored by adjusting the height-to-radius ratio and the fiber's offset angle. The fabricated h-PAM prototype's performance was evaluated, showcasing its capability for contraction and flexibility even in compact forms, thus highlighting its potential as an actuator in soft robotics applications.