Topology-Optimized Pneumatic Soft Actuator: Design and Experimental Validation

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Mehta, Sumit, Poulios, Konstantinos
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Mehta, Sumit
Poulios, Konstantinos
author_facet Mehta, Sumit
Poulios, Konstantinos
contents This paper demonstrates the computational design of soft elastomeric pneumatic actuators using nonlinear topology optimization. An existing density- and porohyperelasticity-based topology optimization framework was extended from 2D to 3D and used to generate two manufacturable actuator designs, which were then studied numerically and experimentally. For both designs, the objective was to maximize the bending response for a prescribed actuation pressure under two different allowable strain limits. A key advantage of the employed topology optimization framework is that it can consistently, during the optimization, account for the very large deformations induced upon pressurization. The two optimized 3D designs were fabricated using stereolithography and experimentally tested to validate their performance.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_20101
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Topology-Optimized Pneumatic Soft Actuator: Design and Experimental Validation
Mehta, Sumit
Poulios, Konstantinos
Robotics
This paper demonstrates the computational design of soft elastomeric pneumatic actuators using nonlinear topology optimization. An existing density- and porohyperelasticity-based topology optimization framework was extended from 2D to 3D and used to generate two manufacturable actuator designs, which were then studied numerically and experimentally. For both designs, the objective was to maximize the bending response for a prescribed actuation pressure under two different allowable strain limits. A key advantage of the employed topology optimization framework is that it can consistently, during the optimization, account for the very large deformations induced upon pressurization. The two optimized 3D designs were fabricated using stereolithography and experimentally tested to validate their performance.
title Topology-Optimized Pneumatic Soft Actuator: Design and Experimental Validation
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.20101