Experimental Study on Dynamic Characteristics and Fatigue of McKibben Pneumatic Artificial Muscles

Abstract

Pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs), as a type of actuators in soft robots, have been attracted in the past few decades. Because of their higher power density ratio and flexibility, PAMs are now widely used as a flexible actuator. When PAMs are applied to different robot systems, their dynamic output characteristics are influenced by the amplitude and frequency of input signals and external loads. The experimental results show that with the increase of input signals frequency, the width of PAMs dynamic hysteresis loop increases and the height decreases. Meanwhile, in order to verify that the fatigue life of the Mckibben PAMs made in the laboratory can meet the use requirements, this paper has completed the fatigue tests of them.