A Novel Fiber Jamming Theory and Experimental Verification

<p>This thesis developed a novel theory of fiber jamming and experimentally verified it. The theory relates the performance, which is the ratio between the stiff and soft states of a fiber jamming chamber, to three relative design parameters: the ratio of the wall thickness to the membrane inner diameter, the ratio of the fiber diameter to membrane inner diameter, and the number of fibers. These three parameters, when held constant across different chamber sizes, hold the performance constant. To test the theory, three different types of fiber jamming chambers were built in three different sizes. Each chamber was set up as a cantilever beam and deflected 10mm in both the un-jammed (soft) and jammed (stiff) states. When the three design parameters were held constant, the performance of the chamber was consistent within 10\%. In contrast, when the parameters were altered, there was a statistically significant $p < .0001$ and noticeable effect on chamber performance. These two results can be used in tandem to design miniaturized fiber jamming chambers. These results also have a direct application in soft robots designed for minimally invasive surgery.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

MS in Mechanical Engineering

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Year dc:date.available

2019

Author dc:creator

• Chafetz, Jared Richard

Contributors dc:contributor

• Xi Wu
• Mechanical Engineering
• College of Engineering

• Soft robotics
• Fiber Jamming
• Controllable Stiffness
• Material Jamming
• STIFF-FLOP
• Biomechanical Engineering
• Other Mechanical Engineering

Identifier

10.15368/theses.2019.118

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.calpoly.edu:theses-3541