A design of longitudinally-divided balloon structure in PDMS pneumatic balloon actuator based on fem simulations

Toward optimum design of micro devices using pneumatic balloon actuators (PBAs), we propose a design concept with longitudinally-divided balloon structure. We have performed FEM-based simulation and demonstrated its applicability to compute and characterize the bending motion of PBAs fabricated from PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) material. In the present study, it is shown through the simulation that the bending characteristics can be significantly altered dependent on the number of balloon divisions. Moreover, it is experimentally indicated that, with the present design, the magnitude of the balloon inflation can be reduced so as to achieve a desired bending motion in more compact space than required with a single-balloon structure of the equivalent size of the balloon.