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[116] Citation: Abstract
The McKibben artificial muscle is a pneumatic actuator whose properties
include a very high force to weight ratio. This characteristic makes it
very attractive for a wide range of applications such as mobile robots and
prosthetic appliances for the disabled. Typical applications often
require a significant number of repeated contractions and extensions or
cycles of the actuator. This repeated action leads to fatigue and failure
of the actuator, yielding a life span that is often shorter than its more
common robotic counterparts such as electric motors or pneumatic
cylinders. In this paper, we develop a model that predicts the maximum
number of life cycles of the actuator based on available uniaxial tensile
properties of the actuator's inner bladder. Experimental results, which
validate the model, reveal McKibben actuators fabricated with natural
latex rubber bladders have a fatigue limit 24 times greater than actuators
fabricated with synthetic silicone rubber at large contraction ratios.
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Updated: Tue Jul 15 23:54:50 2008
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