A Multiple Working Mode Approach to Hammering With A Modular Reconfigurable Robot

Robot joints could be damaged by impulsive forces due to impact when the robot performs hammering operations. This thesis presents the development of a strategy that allows a modular reconfigurable robot to safely perform nail hammering. To do this, a multiple working mode approach is applied to switch the selected joint(s) to passive mode with friction compensation to allow free rotation during impact. Analytic impulse models are used to predict joint impulses which can be computed offline or online and serve as criteria for mode switching. Joint impulses are constrained in case the hammer collides with such an object of infinite effective mass. Advantages of the proposed approach may include savings on space, weight, costs, and complexity for a limited range of nail/board environments. An experimental study validates analytic models of hammering and effectiveness of multiple working mode approach.

A Multiple Working Mode Approach to Hammering With A Modular Reconfigurable Robot

Robot joints could be damaged by impulsive forces due to impact when the robot performs hammering operations. This thesis presents the development of a strategy that allows a modular reconfigurable robot to safely perform nail hammering. To do this, a multiple working mode approach is applied to switch the selected joint(s) to passive mode with friction compensation to allow free rotation during impact. Analytic impulse models are used to predict joint impulses which can be computed offline or online and serve as criteria for mode switching. Joint impulses are constrained in case the hammer collides with such an object of infinite effective mass. Advantages of the proposed approach may include savings on space, weight, costs, and complexity for a limited range of nail/board environments. An experimental study validates analytic models of hammering and effectiveness of multiple working mode approach.

Erosion Mechanism of a Cavitating Jet on Groove Roughness

The erosion behavior of a cavitating jet on groove roughness was investigated experimentally using mass-loss characteristics, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation, time-resolved shadowgraph, and schlieren flow visualizations. The wall morphology of the cavitating-jet erosion on the groove roughness indicated an increased mass loss, which was highly increased along the groove rather than across the groove. Furthermore, increased erosion pits were observed on the groove bottom along the grooves. The shadowgraph imaging of the cavitating jet on the rough wall showed noncircular cavitation bubble distributions along and across the grooves, which corresponds to the increased number of cavitation bubbles along the grooves and the decreased number of bubbles across the grooves. This result is consistent with the erosion morphology of the groove roughness. Schlieren imaging indicated that the frequency and intensity fluctuation of the shockwave formation did not change significantly on the groove roughness along and across the grooves. The findings in the study show that the increased erosion mechanism on groove roughness is caused by the increased number of impulsive forces and the shockwave focusing effect on the groove bottom.

In Vitro Simulation of Dental Implant Bridges Removal: Influence of Luting Agent and Abutments Geometry on Retrievability

Implant fixed dental prostheses are widely used for the treatment of edentulism, often preferred over the screw-retained ones. However, one of the main features of an implant-supported prosthesis is retrievability, which could be necessary in the case of implant complications. In this study, the retrievability of implant-fixed dental prostheses was investigated considering two of the main factors dental practitioners have to deal with: the abutments geometry and the luting agent. Impulsive forces were applied to dental bridge models to simulate crowns’ retrievability in clinical conditions. The number of impulses and the impulsive force delivered during each test were recorded and used as retrievability indexes. One-hundred-and-five tests were conducted on 21 combinations of bridges and luting agents, and a Kruskal-Wallis test was performed on the results. The abutment geometry significantly influenced the number of impulses needed for retrieval (p < 0.05), and a cement-dependent trend was observed as well. On the other hand, the forces measured during tests showed no clear correlation with bridge retrievability. The best retrievability was obtained with long, slightly tapered abutments and a temporary luting agent.

Adoption of Multi-screen Multitasking in Young Generation of China

Presently, people are increasingly becoming screen jugglers and frequently involving multitasking through multiple screens. The current study is focused on explaining multi-screen multitasking behavior of the younger generation in China. People like to self-regulate their routine behaviors to be productive and organized. Recent research in social psychology suggests that self-regulation occurs both deliberately and intuitively. This dual system approach of self-regulation promotes the idea that both reflective and impulsive forces are involved in determining human behavior. Owing to this conception, the present research opted for a dual system approach of self-regulation as the theoretical basis. Empirical data has been collected from university students in China and a total of 345 responses have been used for the analysis which has been performed through structural equation modeling in SmartPLS 3.0. The results indicate that the factors of both deliberative and automatic self-regulation are effective in determining multi-screen multitasking behavior.