SKM 2023 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 7: Granular Matter and Contact Dynamics

DY 7.9: Vortrag

Montag, 27. März 2023, 12:15–12:30, ZEU 148

Effect of particle size on the suction mechanism in granular grippers — •Angel Santarossa, Olfa D’Angelo, Achim Sack, and Thorsten Pöschel — Institute for Multiscale Simulation, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstraße 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany

Granular grippers are highly adaptable soft actuators able to grasp objects of different shapes and sizes. They consist of an elastic membrane partially filled with a granulate. Their operating principle relies on the reversible jamming transition of granular materials. The filled membrane can be deformed and reshaped when pressed onto an object. When the air within the membrane is evacuated, the granulate hardens, creating forces to hold and manipulate the object. Three mechanisms contribute to the holding force of granular grippers: frictional forces, geometrical constraints, and suction effects. Using X-ray computed tomography, we link the activation of suction to the size of the particles. We show that a gripper filled with small particles (average diameter d ≈ 0.12 mm) conforms to a high degree around the object than with larger particles (average diameter d ≈ 4 mm), thus enabling the formation of air-tight seals. When the gripper is pulled off, simulating the lifting of an object, vacuum pressure is generated in the sealed cavity at the interface gripper-object. If the particles are too large, the gripper does not conform tightly enough around the object, leaving gaps at the interface gripper-object. These gaps prevent the creation of sealed vacuum cavities between the object and the gripper, impeding the suction mechanism from operating.