TY - GEN
T1 - Methods for shape fitting in morphing compliant mechanisms
AU - Yellowhorse, Alden
AU - Rommers, Jelle
AU - Amoozandeh, Ali
AU - Herder, Just L.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - While compact folding is desirable for applications such as deployable mechanisms, achieving this with compliant mechanisms can be challenging. One reason for this is that the relaxed and stressed states of the mechanism are known and the loads producing the transition are unknown. The relaxed state is determined by the desired, deployed state and the stressed geometry is determined by the storage space. Approaches for solving this problem often require significant software development or cannot address problems in three dimensions. To address this problem, this work describes a method for designing 3D compliant mechanisms that can fold compactly. If the stressed and relaxed geometry are specified, an algebraic method can be used to find loads which best approximate the desired geometry. A least-squares approach is used to minimize error. A simplification of this method in two dimensions is also described. To further enhance the accuracy of the shape approximation, a method for varying the beam bending stiffness is described. For comparison, an inverse finite-element solver was implemented and paired with an optimizer and used to solve the same problem. Both methods were used to design a compliant, compactly folding beam. These results were compared with results from a commercial, finite-element software package.
AB - While compact folding is desirable for applications such as deployable mechanisms, achieving this with compliant mechanisms can be challenging. One reason for this is that the relaxed and stressed states of the mechanism are known and the loads producing the transition are unknown. The relaxed state is determined by the desired, deployed state and the stressed geometry is determined by the storage space. Approaches for solving this problem often require significant software development or cannot address problems in three dimensions. To address this problem, this work describes a method for designing 3D compliant mechanisms that can fold compactly. If the stressed and relaxed geometry are specified, an algebraic method can be used to find loads which best approximate the desired geometry. A least-squares approach is used to minimize error. A simplification of this method in two dimensions is also described. To further enhance the accuracy of the shape approximation, a method for varying the beam bending stiffness is described. For comparison, an inverse finite-element solver was implemented and paired with an optimizer and used to solve the same problem. Both methods were used to design a compliant, compactly folding beam. These results were compared with results from a commercial, finite-element software package.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119983813&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1115/DETC2021-70686
DO - 10.1115/DETC2021-70686
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85119983813
T3 - Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference
BT - 45th Mechanisms and Robotics Conference (MR)
PB - The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
T2 - 45th Mechanisms and Robotics Conference, MR 2021, Held as Part of the ASME 2021 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, IDETC-CIE 2021
Y2 - 17 August 2021 through 19 August 2021
ER -