Assessment on assorted hyper-elastic material models applied for large deformation soft finger contact problems

Modeling of soft finger contact mechanics is a prerequisite for gripper design. Realism of soft finger deformations depends extremely on the selection of appropriate hyper-elastic material model for soft materials. The essential criterion for a good mathematical model for hyper elasticity is its ability to match the measured strain energy curves under different deformations over a large range. Selecting an appropriate material law for a given material combination is one of the most difficult tasks in soft finger contact modeling. The present study is devoted for comparing seven popular hyper-elastic non-linear material models (Mooney–Rivlin, Ogden, Yeoh, Neo-Hookean, Gent, Polynomial and Aruda–Boyce model) and selection of the most appropriate model based on experimental data for modeling of soft contact problems. Present results clearly reveal that Ogden and Neo-Hookean model are more suitable for these problems and in line with the experimental results. Finite element technique is employed for critical comparison of various hyper-elastic material models.