Research On Pipeline Robot Based On Minimum Energy Structure Of Dielectric Elastomer

This paper focuses on the development of soft robots driven by dielectric elastomers.Compared with rigid mechanical systems,soft robots can adapt to various environments by changing their shape and posture as needed.The lightweight materials used to construct soft robots make them small in size and weight,enabling them to operate in confined spaces.The manufacturing and maintenance costs of dielectric elastomer soft robots are also low.Moreover,since most of the robot is made of soft materials,it can absorb impacts when faults or collisions occur,resulting in improved safety and reduced damage to the human body and the surrounding environment.Therefore,soft robots have great potential for use in many fields such as medical,educational,and entertainment applications.Based on the advantages of soft robots in terms of flexibility,safety,and cost,they can better meet diverse practical needs.The paper first studies the material characteristics of dielectric elastomers and establishes a force-electrostatic model based on thermodynamics,as well as its hyperelastic and viscoelastic models based on the Yeoh model.Some common failure modes of dielectric materials are also analyzed to minimize the failure rate in subsequent driver production.Subsequently,the paper explores the static mechanical properties of the minimum energy structure,providing a detailed description of the preparation process of the minimum energy structure,a thorough discussion of its deformation structure,and an analysis of the reasons for the saddle-shaped phenomenon.The paper also conducts a mechanical analysis of the crosssection,establishes a functional relationship between material tension and deformation angle in the minimal energy structure,and optimizes the dynamic response by changing design parameters and voltage signals.In terms of dynamic analysis,dielectric elastomer minimal structures usually exhibit regular deformation under alternating current voltage.The paper conducts dynamic response experiments on the parameters of frequency,voltage peak value,waveform,and bias voltage to study their impact on the deformation behavior of DEMES.In terms of the design and research of pipeline robots,the driver was designed based on the above theory,and lightweight parts were made using 3D printing technology.By combining the ratchet principle with the motion characteristics of the driver,a soft pipeline robot human(with a maximum body length of 84 mm,width of 56 mm,and height of 126 mm)was designed and manufactured that can complete crawling forward,turning,and uphill functions in the pipeline.Through experiments,it was found that the maximum speed can be 11.7 mm/s at 5.5 kV and 1.5 Hz,and the maximum tensile force can be 68.2 mN at 6 kV and 1 Hz.Based on experimental data,an efficiency model was constructed,and various working conditions were simulated using Adams to demonstrate the working ability of pipeline robots in complex situations.