A New Type of Hydraulic Muscle

Abstract

This paper presents the invention and development of a new fundamental type of hydraulic actuator, aimed at delivering better actuation efficiency. This actuator is a flexible tube, composed of two different materials, which deflects while applying inner pressure. This concept is simple to produce, and allows adaptation of the deflected shape by the design parameters (radius, wall thickness, geometry, etc.). Among other applications, it is mostly suitable for the activation of fins of nature-like marine robots. Theoretical formulation, production of prototypes and actuation experiments are presented, as well as material hysteresis research and an application example.