Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering
>> 2009,
Volume 4,
Issue 3
doi:
10.1007/s11465-009-0066-1
Mechanical and geometric advantages in compliant mechanism optimization
Department of Mechanical & Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Available online: 2009-09-05
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Abstract
This paper presents a focused examination of the mechanical and geometric advantages in compliant mechanisms and their ramifications in the design formulations of compliant mechanisms posed as a topology optimization problem. With a linear elastic structural analysis, we quantify mechanical (and geometric) advantage in terms of the stiffness elements of the mechanism's structure. We then analyze the common formulations of compliant mechanism optimization and the role of the external springs added in the formulations. It is shown that the common formulations using mechanical (or geometric) advantage would directly emulate at best a rigid-body linkage to the true optimum design. As a result, the topology optimization generates point flexures in the resulting optimal mechanisms. A case study is investigated to demonstrate the resulting trends in the current formulations.
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