Identification of material parameters of complex cables from scanned 3D shapes

Simulation of flexible components is becoming an integral part of virtual product design. However, for a simulation model to predict physically correct deformations, it is crucial that the material parameters are authentic. Conventional methods to acquire these parameters involve extensive force-displacement measurements, which may be unpractical or too expensive to perform. We propose an alternative method to identify the material parameters of a flexible one-dimensional component, such as a cable or a hose, from a scanned set of deformed reference shapes. The method finds the model parameters that give the best geometric fit between the model and the reference shapes.