Design Methodology of a Spring Roll Dielectric Elastomer-Based Actuator for a Hand Rehabilitation System

Development of hand rehabilitation devices is crucial for recovering hand functions of impaired patients after stroke or injures. The demand for the development of new devices that avoid the defects of stationary systems or avoid the obstacles of other portable devices is increasing. In this paper, a spring roll Dielectric Elastomer (DE)-based actuator for a hand rehabilitation system, that avoid the bulky size, complicated structure and the difficulty in controlling the pneumatic actuation, is developed. A design methodology of pre-specified specifications is established to calculate the design parameters of the actuator; namely, the proper spring stiffness, the number of layers and the pre-strain for the DE material. Theoretical analysis and ANSYS MULTIPHYSICS simulations are carried out throughout this design methodology to obtain those parameters. The fabrication procedures to obtain a prototype are finally presented.