通过多稳态结构实现刚度的离散切换,用于软体机器人自适应调节。
Toggling stiffness via multistability
- 利用支撑梁与曲梁的旋转传递机制,实现刚度在两个稳定状态间切换。
- 不同几何下刚度比可达10:1以上,可通过调整细长比或局部铰链调控。
- 适用于软体机器人、智能结构等需可编程刚度的场景。
可变刚度是生物系统和机器人系统中的关键能力,支持在不同任务与环境下的自适应交互。机械超材料通过将刚度变化直接编码于整体结构中,替代传统机电解决方案,减少离散组件需求。本文提出一种多稳态机械超材料,其有效剪切刚度可在两个稳定构型间离散切换。对单元胞的替代梁模型进行力学分析发现,该行为源于支撑梁向曲梁传递的旋转,主导弯曲与轴向变形之间的平衡。因此,通过改变支撑梁细长比或引入局部铰链以调节旋转传递,可调制两种状态间的剪切刚度比。对3D打印原型的实验验证了数值预测,并确认不同几何下均能实现一致的刚度切换。最后,我们演示了一种单体软离合器,利用此效应实现程序化、分步式刚度调节。本工作建立了一种基于多稳态超材料的可切换刚度设计策略,适用于软体机器人与智能结构中对自适应柔性的高要求场景。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Variable stiffness is a key capability in biological and robotic systems, enabling adaptive interaction across tasks and environments. Mechanical metamaterials offer an alternative to conventional mechatronic solutions by encoding stiffness variation directly into monolithic structural architectures, reducing the need for discrete assemblies. Here, we introduce a multistable mechanical metamaterial that exhibits a toggleable stiffness effect in which the effective shear stiffness switches discretely between stable mechanical configurations. Mechanical analysis of surrogate beam models of the unit cell reveals that this behavior originates from the rotation transmitted by the support beams to the curved beam, governing the balance between bending and axial deformation. Consequently, the shear stiffness ratio between the two states can be tuned by varying the slenderness of the support beams or by incorporating localized hinges that modulate rotational transfer. Experiments on 3D-printed prototypes validate the numerical predictions and confirm consistent stiffness toggling across different geometries. Finally, we demonstrate a monolithic soft clutch that leverages this effect to achieve programmable, stepwise stiffness modulation. This work establishes a design strategy for toggleable stiffness using multistable metamaterials, with potential applications in soft robotics and smart structures where adaptive compliance is of paramount importance.
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