Soft robots are predicted to operate well in unstructured environments due to their resilience to impacts, embodied intelligence, and potential ability to adapt to uncertain circumstances. Soft robots are of further interest for space and extraterrestrial missions, owing to their lightweight and compressible construction. Most soft robots in the literature to-date are made of elastomer bodies. However, limited data are available on the material characteristics of commonly used elastomers in extreme environments. In this study, we characterize four commonly used elastomers in the soft robotics literature-EcoFlex 00-30, Dragon Skin 10, Smooth-Sil 950, and Sylgard 184-in a temperature range of -40°C to 80°C and humidity range of 5-95% RH. We perform pull-to-failure, stiffness, and stress-relaxation tests. Furthermore, we perform a case study on soft elastomers used in stretchable capacitive sensors to evaluate the implications of the constituent material behavior on component performance. We find that all elastomers show temperature-dependent behavior, with typical stiffening of the material and a lower strain at failure with increasing temperature. The stress-relaxation response to temperature depends on the type of elastomer. Limited material effects are observed in response to different humidity conditions. The mechanical properties of the capacitive sensors are only dependent on temperature, but the measured capacitance shows changes related to both humidity and temperature changes, indicating that component-specific properties need to be considered in tandem with the mechanical design. This study provides essential insights into elastomer behavior for the design and successful operation of soft robots in varied environmental conditions.

中文翻译：

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软弹性体行为中温度和湿度依赖性的表征。

软机器人预计将在非结构化环境中良好运行，因为它们具有抗冲击能力、体现智能以及适应不确定环境的潜在能力。由于其轻质且可压缩的结构，软机器人在太空和外星任务中受到了进一步的关注。迄今为止文献中的大多数软机器人都是由弹性体制成的。然而，关于极端环境下常用弹性体的材料特性的数据有限。在这项研究中，我们在 -40°C 至 80°C 的温度范围和湿度范围内表征了软体机器人文献中的四种常用弹性体 - EcoFlex 00-30、Dragon Skin 10、Smooth-Sil 950 和 Sylgard 184 5-95% 相对湿度。我们进行拉力破坏、刚度和应力松弛测试。此外，我们对可拉伸电容传感器中使用的软弹性体进行了案例研究，以评估组成材料行为对组件性能的影响。我们发现所有弹性体都表现出与温度相关的行为，随着温度的升高，材料会典型硬化，并且失效时的应变会降低。对温度的应力松弛响应取决于弹性体的类型。根据不同的湿度条件观察到有限的材料效应。电容式传感器的机械性能仅取决于温度，但测量的电容显示出与湿度和温度变化相关的变化，这表明需要在机械设计中同时考虑组件特定的性能。这项研究为软机器人在不同环境条件下的设计和成功操作提供了对弹性体行为的重要见解。