DOI: https://doi.org/10.15368/theses.2019.118
Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/2102
Date of Award
10-2019
Degree Name
MS in Mechanical Engineering
Department/Program
Mechanical Engineering
College
College of Engineering
Advisor
Xi Wu
Advisor Department
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor College
College of Engineering
Abstract
This thesis developed a novel theory of fiber jamming and experimentally verified it. The theory relates the performance, which is the ratio between the stiff and soft states of a fiber jamming chamber, to three relative design parameters: the ratio of the wall thickness to the membrane inner diameter, the ratio of the fiber diameter to membrane inner diameter, and the number of fibers. These three parameters, when held constant across different chamber sizes, hold the performance constant. To test the theory, three different types of fiber jamming chambers were built in three different sizes. Each chamber was set up as a cantilever beam and deflected 10mm in both the un-jammed (soft) and jammed (stiff) states. When the three design parameters were held constant, the performance of the chamber was consistent within 10\%. In contrast, when the parameters were altered, there was a statistically significant $p < .0001$ and noticeable effect on chamber performance. These two results can be used in tandem to design miniaturized fiber jamming chambers. These results also have a direct application in soft robots designed for minimally invasive surgery.