Contractile Pneumatic Artificial Muscle Configured to Generate Extension

Abstract

Pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) are comprised of an elastomeric bladder surrounded by a braided mesh sleeve. When the bladder is inflated, the actuator may either contract or extend axially, with the direction of motion dependent on the orientation of the fibers in the braided sleeve. Contractile PAMs have excellent actuation characteristics, including high specific power, specific work, and power density. Unfortunately, extensile PAMs exhibit much reduced blocked force, and are prone to buckling under axial compressive loading. For applications in which extensile motion and compressive force are desired, the pushPAM actuator introduced here exploits the operational characteristics of a contractile PAM, but changes the direction of motion and force by employing a simple internal mechanism using no gears or pulleys. Quasistatic behavior of the pushPAM was compared to a contractile PAM for a range of operating pressures. Based on these data, the pushPAM actuator can achieve force and stroke comparable to a contractile PAM tested under the same conditions.