Abstract
The pursuit of increased autonomy for undersea and surface vehicles presents challenges for their launch, recovery, positioning and control (LRP&C). Traditional rigid handling and actuator systems are often volume constrained and can limit payloads capacities and operational effectiveness. The need to innovate high capacity and compact actuation technologies is intensified by increasing demands for rapid deployability and stowability, scalability, adaptability, temporary buoyancy and connectivity across the undersea and surface domains. On-demand inflatable and compactable soft actuators may provide unique solutions with robustness needed to operate in extreme underwater environments. This preliminary research investigated the mechanical behaviors, load and stroke capacities, end termination designs and limitations of artificial soft fabric muscles (ASFMs), also known as McKibben muscles, constructed of High Performance Fibers (HPF) for potential launch, recovery, positioning and control of undersea and surface vehicles and interface platforms. Computational mechanics and experimental tests were performed on air-inflated ASFMs constructed of braided fabrics to evaluate their quasi-static behaviors. Both glass and aramid braid materials were studied for a range of diameters and lengths. The computational models supported the fluid/structure interactions by using an Equation of State (EOS) that governed the thermomechanical behaviors of the internal air during volumetric expansion and axial contraction of the ASFMs.
