Static model of flexible pneumatic bending joint

Flexible pneumatic bending joint is a new type of joint based on FPA, which can be adopted in multi-fingered dexterous hand design. The changing of average radius and shell thickness of bending joint during movement are analyzed, which implies that the average radius is almost invariable while the shell thickness changes obviously. The static model of bending joint is established based on principle of moment equilibrium, and was validated by experiment. Experimental result indicates that the theoretical model can basically describe the static properties of bending joint. Finally, the reasons of error between theoretical curve and experimental data are discussed.