Stretching the Boundary: Shell Finite Elements for Pneumatic Soft Actuators
Abstract
Many soft robotics researchers use numerical simulation; all of them wish their simulations would run faster. In this paper we highlight an attractive option for simulating pneumatic soft actuator designs: zero-thickness shell finite elements. These offer a favorable balance between predictive accuracy and computational cost relative to standard approaches. We find that shell finite elements offer a 7x reduction in analysis time while accurately predicting the behavior of a wide variety of soft actuators. The benefits conferred by shell finite element analysis are especially valuable in contexts where simulation speed is as important as absolute accuracy, such as automated design, optimization, and real-time control.
Type
Publication
In the 2022 IEEE 5th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)
While obtaining my Master’s Degree, I collaborated closely with the MACLab, a lab located at the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus which is led by Dr. Robert MacCurdy.
The images below are both visualizations from a paper that I had the privelege of working on, along with Lawrence Smith and Dr. MacCurdy. “Stretching the Boundary: Shell Finite Elements for Pneumatic Soft Actuators,” was published as part of the 2022 IEEE 5th International Conference on Soft Robotics.
@inproceedings{smith2022stretching,
author = {Smith, Lawrence and
Haimes, Jacob and
MacCurdy, Robert},
booktitle = {2022 IEEE 5th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft)},
title = {Stretching the Boundary: Shell Finite Elements for Pneumatic Soft Actuators},
year = 2022,
pages = {403-408},
doi = {10.1109/RoboSoft54090.2022.9762108}
language = en
}
