Πλοήγηση ανά Συγγραφέας "Prodromidis, Konstantinos-Theofanis"

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  • Μικρογραφία εικόνας
    Τεκμήριο
    Development of an air compression mechanism through human walking for integration into a robotic movement assistance system
    (ΕΛΜΕΠΑ, Πολυτεχνική Σχολή, Τμήμα Μηχανολόγων Μηχανικών, 2025-03-16) Prodromidis, Konstantinos-Theofanis; Προδρομίδης, Κωνσταντίνος-Θεοφάνης; Polygerinos, Panagiotis; Πολυγερινός, Παναγιώτης
    To amplify the autonomy of wearable pneumatic mechatronic systems, which are often hindered by tethered, bulky power sources, this thesis presents a self-contained system that harvests pneumatic energy directly from human walking. The work details the design, fabrication, and evaluation of a novel, wearable power source aimed at enabling the next generation of untethered soft robotics. The core of the system is a de-coupled opposing diaphragm compressor, consisting of a soft, heat-sealed textile pouch paired with an external hybrid spring mechanism. A key finding of this work is the critical role of the clearance ratio—the percentage of ’dead volume’ that remains in the compressor after a full stroke—which fundamentally limits the maximum achievable pressure. The de-coupled architecture, which emerged from an iterative prototyping process, was specifically engineered to maximize volumetric efficiency by minimizing this parameter. The bilateral, shoe-mounted harvesters are integrated with a custom-built, belt-mounted electropneumatic control unit that manages and regulates the harvested air. Experimental validation with a human subject walking at 3 km/h demonstrated the system’s functionality, achieving a maximum measured gauge pressure of 0.524 atm. This performance was directly attributed to a high, experimentally measured clearance ratio of 23.4%. To quantify the architecture’s future potential, a theoretically ideal pouch with a 1% clearance ratio was simulated using a custom analytical model, predicting an achievable pressure of 7.27 bar. This work therefore establishes a viable architecture for untethered pneumatic power and provides a clear, data-driven roadmap for its future optimization by targeting the clearance ratio. The work was supported by the European Union through the SWAG Project under Grant 101120408.