Improvement of McKibben Type Artificial Rubber Muscle Model Based on End Shape Deformation

We proposed mathematical model of McKibben type artificial rubber muscle, which considers the hysteresis characteristics, in previous work. The expansion force generated in the radial direction of the artificial muscle was calculated under the cylindrical pressure receiving area in previous model and the shape difference of the pressure receiving area was large from the actual artificial muscle. In this study, accuracy of this model is improved by calculating the pressure receiving area as a combination of a cylindrical shape at center and hemispherical shape at both ends. In this paper, outline of proposed model is discussed and then this model is evaluated by comparing with calculated value of previous model and actual measured value.