Adaptive enhancement design of triply periodic minimal surface lattice structure based on non-uniform stress distribution

The Schwarz primitive triply periodic minimal surface(P-type TPMS)lattice structures are widely used.However,these lattice structures have weak load-bearing capacity compared with other cellular structures.In this paper,an adaptive enhancement design method based on the non-uniform stress distribution in structures with uniform thickness is proposed to design the P-type TPMS lattice structures with higher mechanical properties.Two types of structures are designed by adjusting the adaptive thickness distribution in the TPMS.One keeps the same relative density,and the other keeps the same of non-enhanced region thickness.Compared with the uniform lattice structure,the elastic modulus for the structure with the same relative density increases by more than 17%,and the yield strength increases by more than 10.2%.Three kinds of TPMS lattice structures are fabricated by laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)with 316L stainless steel to verify the proposed enhanced design.The manufacture-induced geometric deviation between the as-design and as-printed models is measured by micro X-ray computed tomography(μ-CT)scans.The quasi-static compression experimental results of P-type TPMS lattice structures show that the reinforced structures have stronger elastic moduli,ultimate strengths,and energy absorption capabilities than the homogeneous P-TPMS lattice structure.

An improved time integration scheme based on uniform cubic B-splines and its application in structural dynamics

A time integration algorithm for structural dynamic analysis is proposed by uniform cubic B-spline functions. The proposed algorithm is successfully used to solve the dynamic response of a single degree of freedom （SDOF） system, and then is generalized for a multiple-degree of freedom （MDOF） system. Stability analysis shows that, with an adjustable algorithmic parameter, the proposed method can achieve both conditional and unconditional stabilities. Validity of the method is shown with four numerical simulations. Comparison between the proposed method and other methods shows that the proposed method possesses high computation accuracy and desirable computation efficiency.

Improved quadratic isogeometric element simulation of one-dimensional elastic wave propagation with central difference method

Two improved isogeometric quadratic elements and the central difference scheme are used to formulate the solution procedures of transient wave propagation prob- lems. In the proposed procedures, the lumped matrices corresponding to the isogeomet- ric elements are obtained. The stability conditions of the solution procedures are also acquired. The dispersion analysis is conducted to obtain the optimal Courant-Friedrichs- Lewy （CFL） number or time-step sizes corresponding to the spatial isogeometric elements. The dispersion analysis shows that the isogeometric quadratic element of the fourth-order dispersion error （called the isogeometric analysis （IGA）-f quadratic element） provides far more desirable numerical dissipation/dispersion than the element of the second-order dis- persion error （called the IGA-s quadratic element） when appropriate time-step sizes are selected. The numerical simulations of one-dimensional （1D） transient wave propagation problems demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution procedures.

Design and Experiments of an Origami-Inspired Pneumatic Flexible Manipulator

Unlike traditional manipulators with high rigidity and limited degrees of freedom,pneumatic manipulators have significant superiorities such as flexibility,lightweight and cleanliness,and therefore,have been one of the most popular research directions in robotics.However,most existing pneumatic manipulators have disadvantages such as low rigidity and simple functionality.In order to make up for the shortcomings of existing pneumatic manipulators,this paper proposes a new pneumatic flexible manipulator inspired by the concept of origami,which realizes the combination and balance of flexibility and rigidity.Finite element analysis is conducted to study influences of the number of airbags,the angle of main beam,and the width of main beam on the performance of the flexible manipulator.The simulation results are utilized to optimize the structure of the flexible manipulator.A pneumatic control system is designed to realize the automatic control of the pneumatic flexible manipulator.At the same time,a prototype is 3D printed,the experimental platform for pneumatic deformation is built,and the verification experiments of the single-jaw manipulator and the three-jaw manipulator are completed.

A novel hybrid design method of lattice structure based on failure mode

Adjusting the mechanical properties of lattice structures is important for many modern application fields. In this paper, a new design method for hybrid multi-layer lattice structures was developed to improve the mechanical properties and energy absorption, by altering and suppressing the formation of the shear band. In these hybrids, all unit cells were divided into two parts:(i) diagonal unit cells and(ii) matrix unit cells. Four categories of unit cells were selected to construct the hybrid multi-layer structures. The compressive moduli, ultimate strengths, and energy absorption properties of the laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)fabricated structures were assessed by experiments and finite element analysis(FEA). The results revealed the great impact of diagonal unit cells on the mechanical properties of the structures. Stronger diagonal unit cells than matrix unit cells led to hybrid structures with enhanced mechanical properties. Compared with a uniform body-centered cubic(BCC) lattice structure, the relative density of the lattice structure consisting of the weakest BCC matrix unit cells and strongest BFVC diagonal unit cells(coupling of BCC, FCC, and VC) exhibited an increase of 20%. The compressive modulus and ultimate strength of this structure rose by more than 200% and 90%, respectively. Two types of structures with specific properties were generated by hybrid design.The first displayed higher modulus, superior strength, and elevated specific energy absorption(SEA) but lower crash load efficiency(CLE). The second illustrated simultaneously higher SEA and elevated CLE. The present results provide a new insight for improving the load-bearing and energy absorption capacities of lattice structures.