Compliant Cardan Universal Joint

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Engin Tanık ◽  
Volkan Parlaktaş

In this study, a compliant version of the Cardan universal joint is introduced. The original design consists of two identical parts assembled at right angle with respect to each other. The single piece part can be produced from planar materials; thus, it has the advantage of easiness in manufacturing. Dimensions of the mechanism are devised in order to satisfy the Cardan joint theory and to avoid an undesired contact between the identical parts. As a design example, a mechanism is dimensioned. The resultant stresses at flexural hinges of this sample are determined via finite element analysis method and torque transmission capability of this mechanism is determined. Further, this sample is manufactured and operated under a considerable output loading. Therefore, robustness of the compliant Cardan joint is verified with this prototype. As well, it is verified that the results of experiments are consistent with the theoretical approaches.

2012 ◽  
Vol 490-495 ◽  
pp. 1451-1455
Author(s):  
Guang Yao Zhao ◽  
Yi Feng Zhao ◽  
Chuan Yin Tang ◽  
Zhi Yuan Du

Aimed at SUV-type vehicle, simulation and analysis of pressure resistance experiments on the body of automobile has been presented in the paper, according to the vehicle safety regulations and standards of FMVSS216. A limited SUV vehicle model is created; simulation is obtained with the help of software LS-DYNA, based on the principle of finite element analysis method. Assessment of pressure resistance and safety of the automobile has been presented, from the aspect of the deformation of body, the energy absorption of the vehicle and components, and the pressure on the body, etc. By rational improving of the original design of body structure, the reasonable distribution of pressure absorbability of the body of the SUV-type automobile is achieved. The effect of the overall energy absorption of the body is fully exerted, and then the safety of the driver and the passenger in a rollover accident is improved. Research methods and conclusions of this paper provide useful ways and references to the research of the safety of vehicle rollover and design of rationality of body energy absorption


Author(s):  
Lei Fu ◽  
Yan Shi ◽  
Qinghua Deng ◽  
Huaizhi Li ◽  
Zhenping Feng

The aerodynamic performance, structural strength and wheel weight are three important factors in the design process of the radial turbine. This paper presents an investigation on these aspects and develops an optimization design approach for radial turbine with consideration of the three factors. The aerodynamic design for the turbine wheel with inlet diameter of 230mm for 100kW-class microturbine unit is carried out firstly as the original design. Then, the cylinder parabolic geometrical design method is applied to the wheel modeling and structural design, but the maximum stress predicted by Finite Element Analysis greatly exceeds the yield limit of material. Furthermore, the wheel weight is above 7.2kg thus bringing some critical difficulties for bearing design and turbine operation. Therefore, an integrated optimization design method for radial turbine is studied and developed in this paper with focus on the wheel design. Meridional profiles and shape lines of turbine wheel are optimized with consideration of the whole wheel weight. Main structural modeling parameters are reselected to reduce the wheel weight. Trade-off between aerodynamic performance and strength performance is highly emphasized during the optimization design. The results show that the optimized turbine wheel gets high aerodynamic performance and acceptable stress distribution with the weight less than 3.8kg.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
VINCENZO OLIVERI ◽  
GIOVANNI ZUCCO ◽  
MOHAMMAD ROUHI ◽  
ENZO COSENTINO ◽  
RONAN O’HIGGINS ◽  
...  

The design of a multi-part aerospace structural component, such as a wingbox, is a challenging process because of the complexity arising from assembly and integration, and their associated limitations and considerations. In this study, a design process of a stiffeners-integrated variable stiffness three-bay wingbox is presented. The wingbox has been designed for a prescribed buckling and post-buckling performance (a prescribed real testing scenario) and made from thermoplastic composite material system (Carbon-PEEK) with the total length of three meters. The stiffeners and spars are integrated into the top and bottom panels of the wingbox resulting a single-piece blended structure with no fasteners or joints. The bottom skin also has an elliptical cut-out for access purposes. The composite tows are steered around this cutout for strain concentration reduction purposes. The fiber/tow steering in the top skin bays (compression side) has also been considered for improved compression-induced buckling load carrying capacity. The proposed design has been virtually verified via high fidelity finite element analysis.


Author(s):  
Robert R. Mayer ◽  
Noboru Kikuchl ◽  
Richard A. Scott

Abstract The topological optimization of components to maximize crash energy absorption for a given volume is considered. The crash analysis is performed using a DYNA3D finite element analysis. The original solid elements are replaced by ones with holes, the hole size being characterized by a so-called density (measure of the reduced volume). A homogenization method is used to find elastic moduli as a function of this density. Simpler approximations were developed to find plastic moduli and yield stress as functions of density. Optimality criteria were derived from an optimization statement using densities as the design variables. A resizing algorithm was constructed so that the optimality criteria are approximately satisfied. A novel feature is the introduction of an objective function based on strain energies weighted at specified times. Each different choice of weighting factors leads to a different structure, allowing a range of design possibilities to be explored. The method was applied to an automotive body rear rail. The original design and a new design of equal volume with holes were compared for energy absorption.


Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (17) ◽  
pp. 4947
Author(s):  
Zhihua Wang ◽  
Fengduo Zhang ◽  
Tao Yao ◽  
Na Li ◽  
Xia Li ◽  
...  

Rotation detection is widely applied in industries. The current commonly used rotation detection system adopts a split structure, which requires stringent installation requirements and is difficult to miniaturize. This paper proposes a single-piece self-powered non-contact sensor with an interdigital sensitive layer to detect the rotation of objects. The electric field generated between a polyurethane (PU) film and a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film is utilized for perceiving the rotation. The surface of the PU film is subjected to wet etching with sulfuric acid to increase the surface area and charge density. Through finite element analysis and experimental testing, the effects of the areas of the sensitive films as well as the horizontal and vertical distances between them on the output voltage are analyzed. Tests are performed on adjustable-speed motors, human arms, and robotic arms. The results show that the sensor can detect the speed, the transient process of rotation, and the swing angle. The proposed rotation sensor has broad application prospects in the fields of mechanical automation, robotics, and Internet of Things (IoT).


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 111-117
Author(s):  
Ram Krishna Danai ◽  
Indra Prasad Acharya

The bearing capacity of foundation is the primary concern in the field of geotechnical engineering. In this study numerical models are developed for each of the secondary borehole data collected around Kathmandu valley. Finite element analysis (i.e. PLAXIS 2D) is carried out using Mohr-coulomb failure criteria to represent two dimensional soil models. Foundation is aimed to model as square footing and prescribed settlement of 10% of footing width is provided to obtain corresponding bearing capacity. In plaxis, effective stress is considered as an ultimate bearing capacity. Drained behavior with axisymmetical models have been considered for soil model in plaxis software. Various soil parameters like C (Cohesion), γ (unit weight), Φ (Frictional angle), ν (Poison ratio), E (Elasticity) for each 1.5m and 3m depths have been considered in models and in theoretical approaches.


2012 ◽  
Vol 252 ◽  
pp. 298-301
Author(s):  
Xin Li Bai ◽  
Ying Fang Zhang ◽  
Ya Wei Zhao

The mechanics properties of a certain automobile rear axle shell were studied and a large displacement, large strain elastoplastic finite element analysis was carried out. and the followings were obtained: the load-displacement curve at loading point, elastoplastic strain-load curve at the maximum stress point, elastoplastic stress-load curve in dangerous cross-section, and the yielding load at which the dangerous cross-section overall yield. The results show that elastoplastic finite element simulation results are much closer to the experimental corresponding results. Through optimization design in manufacturing system, the weight of the rear axle shell is greatly reduced as compared with the original design. Optimal design not only saves materials and reduces cost, but also greatly reduces the design time. The calculation results provide the necessary data for automobile rear axle design, strength evaluation and fatigue life estimate.


2020 ◽  
Vol 143 ◽  
pp. 01001
Author(s):  
Chengfa Deng ◽  
Chang Xu ◽  
Qi Xie ◽  
Qiang Peng

The safety evaluation of the aqueduct in many years of operation is often performed to determine the structural operational behaviour so as to provide a scientific basis for further reinforcement or reconstruction. The missing of the original design data due to the long construction period provides great challenging in the structural safety evaluation of the aqueduct. Taking a hyperbolic arch aqueduct in China as an example, we first rebuilt the aqueduct model using the three-dimensional (3D) point cloud from the three-dimensional laser scanning technology. Coupled with the on-site safety inspection, the 3D finite element analysis was then performed to learn the stress performance of the aqueduct body and its supporting structures, so as to achieve the purpose of safety evaluation of aqueduct structure in a whole.


2013 ◽  
Vol 397-400 ◽  
pp. 662-667
Author(s):  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Xiang Xiang Zhang ◽  
Xiao Ying Liu

The torque shaft of shearer cutting part plays a dual-function of torque transmission and overload protection when the Shearer is working. Therefore it is necessary to study the reliability of the torque shaft. First, the parameterized torque shaft model was built on Inventor and simple parametric analysis of the torque shaft was done by its finite element analysis module. The unloading groove depth 5.079mm met the overload protection requirements. Then the model was imported into professional finite element analysis software Algor to verify the results. Linear statics analysis in Algor showed that when unloading groove depth valued 5.479mm the torque shaft would be broken once the shearer overload. The results of the analysis were reliable as no data was lost during the model interaction between Inventor and Algor.


Author(s):  
Qiaoling Meng ◽  
Giovanni Berselli ◽  
Rocco Vertechy ◽  
Vincenzo Parenti Castelli

Monolithic Flexure-based Compliant Mechanisms (MFCM) can functionally act as nonlinear springs by providing a desired load-displacement profile at one point on their structure. Once the MFCM topology is chosen, these particular springs can be conveniently synthesized by resorting to the well-known Pseudo-Rigid-Body approximation, whose accuracy strongly depends on the modeling precision of the flexures’ principal compliance. For various types of flexures, closed-form solutions have been proposed which express the compliance factors as functions of the flexure dimensions. Nonetheless, the reliability of these analytical relations is limited to slender, beam-like, hinges undergoing small deflections. In order to overcome such limitations, this paper provides empirical equations, derived from finite element analysis, that can be used for the optimal design of circular, elliptical, and corner-filleted flexural hinges with general aspect ratios on the basis of both principal compliance and maximum bearable stress. As a case study, a nonlinear spring conceived as a four-bar linkage MFCM is synthesized and simulated by means of finite element analysis. Numerical results confirm that the aforementioned empirical equations outperform their analytical counterparts when modeling thick cross-section hinges undergoing large deflections.


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