The Design of a Flexible Damper For Passive Energy-Dissipation in Assistive Devices
S. Venkata Shanmukha Sreeramagiri (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
G. Smit – Mentor (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
H. Vallery – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
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Abstract
Energy dissipation plays a crucial role in mitigating noise and vibration in a wide range of applications. In the field of assistive devices, energy dissipation is used to improve the stability of joint motion and protect the musculoskeletal system from excessive loads. It is not surprising that considerable effort has gone into developing effective energy dissipation mechanisms for this application. However conventional devices are bulky, expensive, and rigid. They are known to cause discomfort, and skin trauma to the patients. With the advances in soft robotics, novel soft exoskeletons that demonstrate bio-mimetic functionality, increased comfort, and cost-effective designs are being developed. This work proposes a novel soft, passive damper, intended for operation as an energy dissipator in assistive devices. The study begins with an overview of the state of the art in assistive devices, and energy dissipation mechanisms. A comparison is made of the various modes of energy dissipation for the intended application, and the most suitable one is selected. A proof-of-concept passive flexible damper is designed. A prototype is assembled and its working is experimentally verified. The study concludes with the successful demonstration of a novel soft damper, comments on the current limitations, and suggests future research directions to improve on this approach. This work is a contribution to the development of a new class of soft energy dissipators.