scholarly journals A Buckling Flexure-Based Force-Limiting Mechanism

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Slocum ◽  
Kenneth Kamrin ◽  
Alexander Slocum

A force-limiting buckling flexure has been created which can be used in a wide range of applications where excessive force from an implement can cause harm or damage. The buckling flexure is monolithic, contains no electronics, and can be manufactured using a single shot in an injection molding machine, making it cost effective. In this paper, the design of the flexure is applied to a force-limiting toothbrush as a design study to show its application in a real-world technology. An overview of the buckling flexure is presented, and a structural model is presented to predict when the flexure will elastically buckle. Flexures of different geometries were tested and buckled. The data show that the model can predict buckling of the flexure with an error of 20.84%. A finite element model was also performed which predicts buckling of the flexure within an error of 25.35%. Furthermore, a preliminary model is presented which enables the design of the buckling beam’s displacement, such that the total breakaway deformation can be maximized, making sensing the sudden deformation easier to detect. As part of the application of the buckling flexure, an ergonomic, injection moldable toothbrush was created with the flexure built into the neck of the brush. When the user applies too much force while brushing, the flexure gives way and alerts the user when they have applied too much force; when the user lets off the force, the brush snaps back to its original shape. This design methodology is generalized and can be utilized in other force limited applications where an injection-moldable, pre-set force, and purely mechanical breakaway device is desired.

Author(s):  
Jonathan T. Slocum ◽  
Kenneth Kamrin ◽  
Alexander H. Slocum

A force-limiting buckling flexure has been created which can be used in a wide array of applications where excessive force from an implement can cause harm or damage. The buckling flexure is monolithic, contains no electronics, and can be manufactured using a single shot in an injection molding machine, making it extremely cost effective. In this paper, the design of this flexure is applied to a force-limiting toothbrush as an example of how this buckling flexure may be applied in a real-world technology. An overview of the buckling flexure is presented, and a structural model is shown to predict when the flexure will elastically buckle. This model is compared to data collected from flexures fabricated with varying buckling beam thickness. The data show that the force to buckle the flexure when applied at the tip can be predicted to within 20.84%. Furthermore, a preliminary model is presented which enables design of the buckling beam’s displacement, such that the total breakaway deformation can be maximized, making sensing the sudden deformation easier. As part of the application of the buckling flexure, an ergonomic, injection moldable toothbrush was created with the flexure built into the neck of the brush. When the user applies too much force while brushing, the flexure gives way and alerts the user when they have applied too much force and when the user lets off the force, the brush snaps back to its original shape. This design methodology is generalized and can be utilized in other force limited applications where an injection moldable, pre-set force, purely mechanical breakaway device is desired.


Author(s):  
B. Scott Kessler ◽  
A. Sherif El-Gizawy

The accuracy of a finite element model for design and analysis of a metal forging operation is limited by the incorporated material model’s ability to predict deformation behavior over a wide range of operating conditions. Current rheological models prove deficient in several respects due to the difficulty in establishing complicated relations between many parameters. More recently, artificial neural networks (ANN) have been suggested as an effective means to overcome these difficulties. In the present work, a previously developed ANN with the ability to determine flow stresses based on strain, strain rate, and temperature is incorporated with finite element code. Utilizing this linked approach, a preliminary model for forging an aluminum wheel is developed. This novel method, along with a conventional approach, is then measured against the forging process as it is currently performed in actual production.


Author(s):  
Kevin Darques ◽  
Abdelmounaïm Tounzi ◽  
Yvonnick Le-menach ◽  
Karim Beddek

Purpose This paper aims to go deeper on the analysis of the shaft voltage of large turbogenerators. The main interest of this study is the investigation process developed. Design/methodology/approach The analysis of the shaft voltage because of several defects is based on a two-dimensional (2D) finite element modeling. This 2D finite element model is used to determine the shaft voltage because of eccentricities or rotor short-circuit. Findings Dynamic eccentricities and rotor short circuit do not have an inherent impact on the shaft voltage. Circulating currents in the stator winding because of defects impact the shaft voltage. Originality/value The original value of this paper is the investigation process developed. This study proposes to quantify the impact of a smooth stator and then to explore the contribution of the real stator winding on the shaft voltage.


Author(s):  
M. Vahdati ◽  
C. Breard ◽  
G. Simpson ◽  
M. Imregun

This paper will focus on core-compressor forced response with the aim to develop two design criteria, the so-called chordwise cumulative modal force and heightwise cumulative force, to assess the potential severity of the vibration levels from the correlation between the unsteady pressure distribution on the blade’s surface and the structural modeshape. It is also possible to rank various blade designs since the proposed criterion is sensitive to changes in both unsteady aerodynamic loads and the vibration modeshapes. The proposed methodology was applied to a typical core-compressor forced response case for which measured data were available. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations were used to represent the flow in a non-linear time-accurate fashion on unstructured meshes of mixed elements. The structural model was based on a standard finite element representation from which the vibration modes were extracted. The blade flexibility was included in the model by coupling the finite element model to the unsteady flow model in a time-accurate fashion. A series of numerical experiments were conducted by altering the stator wake and using the proposed indicator functions to minimize the rotor response levels. It was shown that a fourfold response reduction was possible for a certain mode with only a minor modification of the blade.


2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Scott Kessler ◽  
A. Sherif El-Gizawy ◽  
Douglas E. Smith

The accuracy of a finite element model for design and analysis of a metal forging operation is limited by the incorporated material model’s ability to predict deformation behavior over a wide range of operating conditions. Current rheological models prove deficient in several respects due to the difficulty in establishing complicated relations between many parameters. More recently, artificial neural networks (ANN) have been suggested as an effective means to overcome these difficulties. To this end, a robust ANN with the ability to determine flow stresses based on strain, strain rate, and temperature is developed and linked with finite element code. Comparisons of this novel method with conventional means are carried out to demonstrate the advantages of this approach.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 90-100
Author(s):  
Jacek Łubiński ◽  
Henryk Olszewski

Abstract In the design process of offshore steel structures, it is typical to employ commercial calculation codes in which simulation and evaluation of results are performed on the basis of the available standards (e.g. API, DNV, Lloyds). The modeling and solution rely on finite element methods and cover the simulation of the structure’s properties along with the influence of the marine environment – sea currents, wave and wind loading, as well as the influence of vibrations, buoyancy and accompanying mass of water. Both commercial and open source mathematical modeling software which is available nowadays allows for cost effective and flexible implementation of advanced models for offshore industrial structures with high level of credibility and safety. The models can be built to suit task-specific requirements and evaluated on the basis of the selected criterial system best suited to the needs of the customer. Examples of methodology for environmental and structural model development are presented, along with simulation results covering a wide scope of data, ranging from stress and deformation to resonant characteristics and issues of technological feasibility.


Author(s):  
Michael Rose

Piezoceramic Patches are commonly used as actuator devices in smart structures if the induced forces are sufficient for the application. To model these devices in a structural dynamics simulation, a finite element model can be augmented by active layers. This needs a suitable element meshing, taking care of the actual shapes and positions of the active patches in use. If many different setups have to be evaluated, which is naturally the case for placement strategies for suitable actuator positions, this approach is quite cumbersome. To ease and speed up the augmentation of fixed finite element models with piezoceramic patches, so called modal correction methods have been successfully used in this context. These approximative methods avoid the remeshing and the reassembling of the underlying finite element model by adapting the modal description of the structural model with the mass, stiffness and electrical coupling effects of the applied patches. In this paper different aspects of this modelling approach are discussed especially for a tool chain to optimize patch locations in an ASAC simulation environment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinan Yıldırım ◽  
Ufuk Çoban ◽  
Mehmet Çevik

Suspension linkages are one of the fundamental structural elements in each vehicle since they connect the wheel carriers i.e. axles to the body of the vehicle. Moreover, the characteristics of suspension linkages within a suspension system can directly affect driving safety, comfort and economics. Beyond these, all these design criteria are bounded to the package space of the vehicle. In last decades, suspension linkages have been focused on in terms of design development and cost reduction. In this study, a control arm of a diesel public bus was taken into account in order to get the most cost-effective design while improving the strength within specified boundary conditions. Due to the change of the supplier, the control arm of a rigid axle was redesigned to find an economical and more durable solution. The new design was analyzed first by the finite element analysis software Ansys and the finite element model of the control arm was validated by physical tensile tests. The outputs of the study demonstrate that the new design geometry reduces the maximum Von Mises stress 15% while being within the elastic region of the material in use and having found an economical solution in terms of supplier’s criteria.


2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (14) ◽  
pp. 1668-1685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vignesh Subramaniam ◽  
Snehal Jain ◽  
Jai Agarwal ◽  
Pablo Valdivia y Alvarado

The design and characterization of a soft gripper with an active palm to control grasp postures is presented herein. The gripper structure is a hybrid of soft and stiff components to facilitate integration with traditional arm manipulators. Three fingers and a palm constitute the gripper, all of which are vacuum actuated. Internal wedges are used to tailor the deformation of a soft outer reinforced skin as vacuum collapses the composite structure. A computational finite-element model is proposed to predict finger kinematics. Thanks to its active palm, the gripper is capable of grasping a wide range of part geometries and compliances while achieving a maximum payload of 30 N. The gripper natural softness enables robust open-loop grasping even when components are not properly aligned. Furthermore, the grasp pose of objects with various aspect ratios and compliances can be robustly maintained during manipulation at linear accelerations of up to 15 m/s2 and angular accelerations of up to 5.23 rad/s2.


2011 ◽  
Vol 117-119 ◽  
pp. 1535-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Wei Zhang ◽  
Wei Xia ◽  
Zhi Heng Wu

In this paper, the clamping unit of a two-platen injection molding machine was modeled by Pro/ENGINEER, and was imported to Altair HyperWorks. In HyperMesh module, the finite element model was set up, ANSYS has been used in the finite element analysis of the clamping unit and the deformation and stress results were obtained. Based on the topology optimization of HyperWorks/OptiStruct, recommendations to improve the structure of the clamping mechanism are presented; the results showed that less material was used while its performance was maintained.


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