Spanwise flexibility is a key factor influencing propulsion performance of pectoral foils. Performances of bionic fish with oscillating pectoral foils can be enhanced by properly selecting the spanwise flexibility. Th...Spanwise flexibility is a key factor influencing propulsion performance of pectoral foils. Performances of bionic fish with oscillating pectoral foils can be enhanced by properly selecting the spanwise flexibility. The influence law of spanwise flexibility on thrust generation and propulsion efficiency of a rectangular hydro-foil is discussed. Series foils constructed by the two-component silicon rubber are developed. NACA0015 shape of chordwise cross-section is employed. The foils are strengthened by fin rays of different rigidity to realize variant spanwise rigidity and almost the same chordwise flexibility. Experiments on a towing platform developed are carried out at low Reynolds numbers of 10 000, 15 000, and 20 000 and Strouhal numbers from 0.1 to 1. The following experimental results are achieved: (1) The average forward thrust increases with the St number increased; (2) Certain degree of spanwise flexibility is beneficial to the forward thrust generation, but the thrust gap is not large for the fins of different spanwise rigidity; (3) The fin of the maximal spanwise flexibility owns the highest propulsion efficiency; (4) Effect of the Reynolds number on the propulsion efficiency is significant. The experimental results can be utilized as a reference in deciding the spanwise flexibility of bionic pectoral fins in designing of robotic fish prototype propelled by flapping-wing.展开更多
Cross-spring pivots, formed by crossing two identical flexural beams at their midpoint, have been broadly used in precision engineering and aerospace fields. Many researches have been conducted on modeling and analysi...Cross-spring pivots, formed by crossing two identical flexural beams at their midpoint, have been broadly used in precision engineering and aerospace fields. Many researches have been conducted on modeling and analysis of cross-spring pivots. However the influence of application position and magnitude of the external loads on the load-rotation and parasitic motion characteristics has not yet been discussed. In order to reveal the effect of the external loads, this paper develops the accurate load-rotation and center shift models of cross-spring pivots, with generalized planar loads applied including bending moment, horizontal and vertical forces. Firstly, by using the energy method, the load-displacement models of the pivot are derived with the assumption of small rotational angles. Based on the models, the influence of generalized planar loads on the load-rotation relationship is discussed, which shows that both application position and magnitude of the vertical and horizontal forces influence the load-rotation behaviors. Then the accurate center shift expressions of the pivot with generalized planar loads are developed, which shows that the rotational angle is the dominant term for both components of the center shift while the vertical and horizontal forces are small. Finally, the accuracy of the proposed model is validated by finite element analysis（FEA）. Comparing the model data with the results obtained from FEA, the relative error of the load-rotation is less than 6% even if the rotational angle reaches 20°; the relative errors of the two components of center shift are less than 5% and 10% respectively when the rotational angle reaches 10°. The proposed model and analytical conclusions can be used to analyze and preliminarily design the compliant mechanisms containing cross-spring pivots.展开更多
Straight-line compliant mechanisms are important building blocks to design a linear-motion stage, which is very useful in precision applications. However, only a few configurations of straight-line compliant mechanism...Straight-line compliant mechanisms are important building blocks to design a linear-motion stage, which is very useful in precision applications. However, only a few configurations of straight-line compliant mechanisms are applicable. To construct more kinds of them, an approach to design large-displacement straight-line flexural mechanisms with rotational flexural joints is proposed, which is based on a viewpoint that the straight-line motion is regarded as a compromise of rigid and compliant parasitic motion of a rotational flexural joint. An analytical design method based on the Taylor series expansion is proposed to quickly obtain an approximate solution. To illustrate and verify the proposed method, two kinds of flexural joints, cross-axis hinge and leaf-type isosceles-trapezoidal flexural（LITF） pivot are used to reconstruct straight-line flexural mechanisms. Their performances are obtained by analytic and FEA method respectively. The comparisons of the results show the accuracy of the approach. Both examples show that the proposed approach can convert a large-deflection flexural joint into approximate straight-line mechanism with a high linearity that is higher than 5 000 within 5 man displacement. This can lead to a new way to design, analyze or optimize straight-line flexure mechanisms.展开更多
Type synthesis of both rigid and compliant parallel mechanisms has become a hot issue in the field of mechanisms and robotics research in recent years. A unified approach to type synthesis of the two classes of mechan...Type synthesis of both rigid and compliant parallel mechanisms has become a hot issue in the field of mechanisms and robotics research in recent years. A unified approach to type synthesis of the two classes of mechanisms, however, has not been referred and investigated up to date. Based on the state-of-art analysis for several major type synthesis approaches related to rigid and compliant mechanisms, respectively, it proves feasible to establish a unified methodology for type synthesis of these two classes of mechanisms. That is a synthesis philosophy in terms of the hierarchy mapping between mathematic, physical, and mechanical building blocks in the framework of screw theory, as addressed in this paper. The key point of the proposed method lies in establishing the mapping among three different building blocks (i.e. geometric building block, kinematic or constraint building block, and mechanical building block). As a result, it makes the whole type synthesis process simple and visible. By using the proposed method, two examples are taken to verify the effectiveness for the type synthesis of both rigid and flexure mechanisms. The content of this paper may provide a theoretical frame for constructing a visualized algorithm or software about the unified type synthesis (or conceptual design) of both rigid and flexure parallel mechanisms.展开更多
基金supported by National Hi-tech Research and Development Program of China(863 Program, Grant No. 2006AA04Z252)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No. 51005006)+1 种基金Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China(Grand No. 20101102110022)Innovation Foundation of Beihang University for PhD Graduates, China
文摘Spanwise flexibility is a key factor influencing propulsion performance of pectoral foils. Performances of bionic fish with oscillating pectoral foils can be enhanced by properly selecting the spanwise flexibility. The influence law of spanwise flexibility on thrust generation and propulsion efficiency of a rectangular hydro-foil is discussed. Series foils constructed by the two-component silicon rubber are developed. NACA0015 shape of chordwise cross-section is employed. The foils are strengthened by fin rays of different rigidity to realize variant spanwise rigidity and almost the same chordwise flexibility. Experiments on a towing platform developed are carried out at low Reynolds numbers of 10 000, 15 000, and 20 000 and Strouhal numbers from 0.1 to 1. The following experimental results are achieved: (1) The average forward thrust increases with the St number increased; (2) Certain degree of spanwise flexibility is beneficial to the forward thrust generation, but the thrust gap is not large for the fins of different spanwise rigidity; (3) The fin of the maximal spanwise flexibility owns the highest propulsion efficiency; (4) Effect of the Reynolds number on the propulsion efficiency is significant. The experimental results can be utilized as a reference in deciding the spanwise flexibility of bionic pectoral fins in designing of robotic fish prototype propelled by flapping-wing.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos. 50975007, 51105014)PhD Programs Foundation of Ministry of Education of China(Grant No. 20091102110023)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(Grant No. 20100480179)
文摘Cross-spring pivots, formed by crossing two identical flexural beams at their midpoint, have been broadly used in precision engineering and aerospace fields. Many researches have been conducted on modeling and analysis of cross-spring pivots. However the influence of application position and magnitude of the external loads on the load-rotation and parasitic motion characteristics has not yet been discussed. In order to reveal the effect of the external loads, this paper develops the accurate load-rotation and center shift models of cross-spring pivots, with generalized planar loads applied including bending moment, horizontal and vertical forces. Firstly, by using the energy method, the load-displacement models of the pivot are derived with the assumption of small rotational angles. Based on the models, the influence of generalized planar loads on the load-rotation relationship is discussed, which shows that both application position and magnitude of the vertical and horizontal forces influence the load-rotation behaviors. Then the accurate center shift expressions of the pivot with generalized planar loads are developed, which shows that the rotational angle is the dominant term for both components of the center shift while the vertical and horizontal forces are small. Finally, the accuracy of the proposed model is validated by finite element analysis（FEA）. Comparing the model data with the results obtained from FEA, the relative error of the load-rotation is less than 6% even if the rotational angle reaches 20°; the relative errors of the two components of center shift are less than 5% and 10% respectively when the rotational angle reaches 10°. The proposed model and analytical conclusions can be used to analyze and preliminarily design the compliant mechanisms containing cross-spring pivots.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51275552)Foundation for the Author of National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of China(Grant No.201234)
文摘Straight-line compliant mechanisms are important building blocks to design a linear-motion stage, which is very useful in precision applications. However, only a few configurations of straight-line compliant mechanisms are applicable. To construct more kinds of them, an approach to design large-displacement straight-line flexural mechanisms with rotational flexural joints is proposed, which is based on a viewpoint that the straight-line motion is regarded as a compromise of rigid and compliant parasitic motion of a rotational flexural joint. An analytical design method based on the Taylor series expansion is proposed to quickly obtain an approximate solution. To illustrate and verify the proposed method, two kinds of flexural joints, cross-axis hinge and leaf-type isosceles-trapezoidal flexural（LITF） pivot are used to reconstruct straight-line flexural mechanisms. Their performances are obtained by analytic and FEA method respectively. The comparisons of the results show the accuracy of the approach. Both examples show that the proposed approach can convert a large-deflection flexural joint into approximate straight-line mechanism with a high linearity that is higher than 5 000 within 5 man displacement. This can lead to a new way to design, analyze or optimize straight-line flexure mechanisms.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 50875008, 50905005)
文摘Type synthesis of both rigid and compliant parallel mechanisms has become a hot issue in the field of mechanisms and robotics research in recent years. A unified approach to type synthesis of the two classes of mechanisms, however, has not been referred and investigated up to date. Based on the state-of-art analysis for several major type synthesis approaches related to rigid and compliant mechanisms, respectively, it proves feasible to establish a unified methodology for type synthesis of these two classes of mechanisms. That is a synthesis philosophy in terms of the hierarchy mapping between mathematic, physical, and mechanical building blocks in the framework of screw theory, as addressed in this paper. The key point of the proposed method lies in establishing the mapping among three different building blocks (i.e. geometric building block, kinematic or constraint building block, and mechanical building block). As a result, it makes the whole type synthesis process simple and visible. By using the proposed method, two examples are taken to verify the effectiveness for the type synthesis of both rigid and flexure mechanisms. The content of this paper may provide a theoretical frame for constructing a visualized algorithm or software about the unified type synthesis (or conceptual design) of both rigid and flexure parallel mechanisms.
