A novel shape memory alloy actuated soft gripper imitated hand behavior

doi:10.1007/s11465-022-0700-8

Front. Mech. Eng.

2022, Vol. 17

Issue (4) : 44 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-022-0700-8

RESEARCH ARTICLE

A novel shape memory alloy actuated soft gripper imitated hand behavior

Jie PAN, Jingjun YU, Xu PEI(

)

School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China

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Abstract

The limited length shrinkage of shape memory alloy (SMA) wire seriously limits the motion range of SMA-based gripper. In this paper, a new soft finger without silicone gel was designed based on pre bent SMA wire, and the finger was back to its original shape by heating SMA wire, rather than relying only on heat exchange with the environment. Through imitating palm movement, a structure with adjustable spacing between fingers was made using SMA spring and rigid spring. The hook structure design at the fingertip can form self-locking to further improve the load capacity of gripper. Through the long thin rod model, the relationship of the initial pre bent angle on the bending angle and output force of the finger was analyzed. The stress-strain model of SMA spring was established for the selection of rigid spring. Three grasping modes were proposed to adapt to the weight of the objects. Through the test of the gripper, it was proved that the gripper had large bending amplitude, bending force, and response rate. The design provides a new idea for the lightweight design and convenient design of soft gripper based on SMA.

Keywords shape memory alloy (SMA) pre bent wire gripper grasping mode lightweight

Corresponding Author(s): Xu PEI

Just Accepted Date: 11 May 2022 Issue Date: 23 November 2022

Cite this article:

Jie PAN,Jingjun YU,Xu PEI. A novel shape memory alloy actuated soft gripper imitated hand behavior[J]. Front. Mech. Eng., 2022, 17(4): 44.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fme/EN/10.1007/s11465-022-0700-8
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fme/EN/Y2022/V17/I4/44

Fig.1 Two shape memory modes of SMA wire during heating: (a) SMA wire contracts along the direction of the wire and (b) pre bent SMA wire recovers to its initial shape.

Fig.2 Design of finger: (a) initial state, (b) bending during heating, and (c) fixed plate of the SMA wire.

Fig.3 Fingers grasp objects of different sizes.

Fig.4 Structural design of the gripper.

Fig.5 Design of the palm and self-locking structure of gripper.

Fig.6 Stress diagram of the gripper during grasping.

Fig.7 Analysis of the bending force of the pre bent SMA wire.

Fig.8 Bending motion of the finger.

Parameters	Value
Young’s modulus of martensite, $E M$	28 GPa
Young’s modulus of austenite, $E A$	75 GPa
Martensite start temperature, $M s$	42 °C
Martensite finish temperature, $M f$	17 °C
Austenite start temperature, $A s$	55 °C
Austenite finish temperature, $A f$	78 °C
Diameter of SMA wire, $d$	0.381 mm
Pre bent wire, L_p	81 mm
Straight wire, L_s	66 mm
Moment of inertia, I	1.034 × 10^?3 mm⁴

Tab.1 Phase transition temperature and Young’s modulus of the SMA wire

Fig.9 Effect of different pre bent angle of the SMA wire on finger bending.

Fig.10 Stress?strain relationship of the SMA spring during heating.

Tab.2 Physical parameters for the SMA spring

Fig.11 Analysis of the finger’s bending force: (a) test platform of bending force and (b) comparison between theoretical value and experimental value of fingertip.

Fig.12 Bending ability test of the single finger: (a) initial state, (b) maximum bending angle, (c) passive recovery, and (d) active recovery.

Fig.13 Test of the surface temperature of SMA wire: (a) thermal image of Ti400 tester and (b) relationship between temperature and heating time.

Fig.14 Comparison of active recovery and passive recovery time of finger position.

Fig.15 Grasping objects of (a) a tennis ball, (b) a badminton, (c) a plastic bottle, (d) surgical masks, (e) a table tennis, (f) a bolt, (g) an iron bottle, (h) a pincer, (i) a knife, and (j) pouring water.

Fig.16 Comparison of grasping effects under three grasping modes.

Fig.17 Effect of the trapezoidal width on grasping force.

Abbreviations
DE	Dielectric elastomer
HASEL	Hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic
IPMC	Ionic polymer metal composite
PLA	Polylactic acid
PZT	Piezoelectric materials
SMA	Shape memory alloy
SMP	Shape memory polymer
Variables
a	Pre bent angle of the SMA wire
A_f	Temperature at the finish of austenite transformation
A_s	Temperature at the start of austenite transformation
D	Outer diameter of SMA spring
E	Young’s modulus
E(ρ)	The second type of complete elliptic integral
F	Force of SMA spring
F_cr	Critical load
F_e	Fingertip force
I	Moment of inertia
K(ρ)	The first type of complete elliptic integral
k_AB	Slope of line $A B →$
k_CA	Slope of line $C A →$
L	Length of the straight SMA wire
l	Length of the pre bent SMA wire
M	Torque of the elastic rod
M₁	Torque of the rigid skeleton
M₂	Torque of the finger
M_sma1	Torque of the pre bent SMA wire
M_sma2	Torque of the straight SMA wire
r	Wire diameter of SMA spring
s	Arc length
T	Temperature
x_a	x axis displacement generated by the free end of the SMA wire
x_e	x axis displacement of the finger
y	Displacement of the elastic rod along the y axis
y_a	y axis displacement generated by the free end of the SMA wire
y_e	y axis displacement of the finger
ρ₁	Bending curvature
θ	Bending angle of the pre bent SMA wire
θ₁	Bending angle of the finger

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