In a continuing effort to develop improved prosthetic heart valves, a redefinition of the anatomy of the human aortic valve as a function of stress was undertaken. Dimensions and geometric relationships of the human aortic valve as a function of intraaortic pressure between 0 and 120 mm Hg were obtained from a series of silicone rubber valve casts. The axial length of the valve region was found...

In this paper a semi cylindrical fluid filled hyperelastic finger model for soft contact has been developed from the basic principles of mechanics. The deformation parameters namely contact width and radial deflection were calculated for different applied forces. To validate this analytical model, compression tests were conducted on silicone rubber finger specimens . Contact width and radial de...

Cylindrically symmetric structures such as concentric rings and rosettes arise out of thin polymeric films subjected to strong electric fields. Experiments that formed concentric rings and theory capable of explaining these and other cylindrical structures are presented. These rings represent an additional member of a class of structures, including pillars and holes, formed by electrohydrodynam...

This work provides approaches to designing and fabricating soft fluidic elastomer robots. That is, three viable actuator morphologies composed entirely from soft silicone rubber are explored, and these morphologies are differentiated by their internal channel structure, namely, ribbed, cylindrical, and pleated. Additionally, three distinct casting-based fabrication processes are explored: lamin...

A core-based intrinsic fiber-optic absorption sensor has been developed and tested for the detection of volatile organic compounds. The distal ends of transmitting and receiving fibers are connected by a smal l cylindrical section of an optically clear silicone rubber. The silicone rubber acts both as a light pipe and as a selective membrane into which the analyte molecules can diffuse. The sen...

Abstract Mechanical vibrations from heavy machines, building structures, or the human body can be harvested and directly converted into electrical energy. In this paper, potential to effectively harvest mechanical locally generate energy using a novel piezoelectric-rubber composite structure is explored. Piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate bonded silicone rubber form cylindrical composite-lik...

This study investigated the effects of screwdriver handle shape, surface, and workpiece orientation on subjective discomfort, number of screw-tightening rotations, screw-insertion time, axial screwdriving force, and finger contact forces in a screwdriving task. Handles with three longitudinal cross-sectional shapes (circular, hexagonal, triangular), four lateral shapes (cylindrical, double frus...