Asymptotic self-restabilization of a continuous elastic structure

Abstract

A challenge in soft robotics and soft actuation is the determination of an elastic system which spontaneously recovers its trivial path during postcritical deformation after a bifurcation. The interest in this behaviour is that a displacement component spontaneously cycles around a null value, thus producing a cyclic soft mechanism. An example of such a system is theoretically proven through the solution of the Elastica and a stability analysis based on dynamic perturbations. It is shown that the asymptotic self-restabilization is driven by the development of a configurational force, of similar nature to the Peach-Koehler interaction between dislocations in crystals, which is derived from the principle of least action. A proof-of-concept prototype of the discovered elastic system is designed, realized, and tested, showing that this innovative behaviour can be obtained in a real mechanical apparatus.

arXiv comment11 pages, 8 figures

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Model Based Control of Soft Robots: A Survey of the State of the Art and Open Challenges
• Non-smooth dynamics of buckling based metainterfaces: rocking-like motion and bifurcations
• Nested Bloch waves in elastic structures with configurational forces
• Double restabilization and design of force-displacement response of the extensible elastica with movable constraints
• The elastica sling
• Configurational forces on elastic structures
• Scattering from a non-linear structured interface