An experimental study of bellows-type fluidic soft bending actuators under external water pressure

摘要

Soft actuators which are composed of low-modulus material have broad application prospects in marine exploration tasks such as biological sampling due to their inherent compliance and adaptability. However, the influence of underwater pressure on the soft actuators remains to be studied. In this work, an experimental study of bellows-type fluidic soft bending actuators fabricated with 3D printing technology is implemented. Deep sea test environment is simulated by adjustable external water pressure. The response of the soft actuator to the input pressure under different external pressure (from 1 atm to 15 MPa) is presented and discussed. The results show that the external water pressure can cause the actuator to bend more in both static and dynamic conditions. Moreover, the increase of the bending angle is positively related with the environment pressure. In general, the feasibility of the soft actuators and the fluid power system for underwater applications are verified. This work can provide experimental reference for the design and control of soft manipulators in marine operation.