A Variable Stiffness Joint With Electrospun P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) Variable Stiffness Springs
This letter presents a novel rotational variable stiffness joint that relies on one motor and a set of variable stiffness springs. The variable stiffness springs are leaf springs with a layered design, i.e., an electro-active layer of electrospun aligned nanofibers of poly(vinylidene fluoride-triflu...
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Published in | IEEE robotics and automation letters Vol. 3; no. 2; pp. 973 - 978 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Piscataway
IEEE
01.04.2018
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | This letter presents a novel rotational variable stiffness joint that relies on one motor and a set of variable stiffness springs. The variable stiffness springs are leaf springs with a layered design, i.e., an electro-active layer of electrospun aligned nanofibers of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)] surrounded by two electrodes of aluminum and held together by inactive material. To achieve a variable stiffness, different voltages and, therefore, different electric fields, are applied to the springs. The variable stiffness springs are electromechanically analyzed to highlight the voltage-deflection and force-deflection characteristics. Finally, the springs are used in the design of a proof-of-concept variable stiffness joint prototype. Experimental results on the variable stiffness joint confirm the viability of the proposed solution. |
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ISSN: | 2377-3766 2377-3766 |
DOI: | 10.1109/LRA.2018.2793348 |