Galloping cheetahs,climbing mountain goats,and load hauling horses all show desirable locomotion capability,which motivates the development of quadruped robots.Among various quadruped robots,hydraulically driven quadr...Galloping cheetahs,climbing mountain goats,and load hauling horses all show desirable locomotion capability,which motivates the development of quadruped robots.Among various quadruped robots,hydraulically driven quadruped robots show great potential in unstructured environments due to their discrete landing positions and large payloads.As the most critical movement unit of a quadruped robot,the limb leg unit(LLU)directly affects movement speed and reliability,and requires a compact and lightweight design.Inspired by the dexterous skeleton–muscle systems of cheetahs and humans,this paper proposes a highly integrated bionic actuator system for a better dynamic performance of an LLU.We propose that a cylinder barrel with multiple element interfaces and internal smooth channels is realized using metal additive manufacturing,and hybrid lattice structures are introduced into the lightweight design of the piston rod.In addition,additive manufacturing and topology optimization are incorporated to reduce the redundant material of the structural parts of the LLU.The mechanical properties of the actuator system are verified by numerical simulation and experiments,and the power density of the actuators is far greater than that of cheetah muscle.The mass of the optimized LLU is reduced by 24.5%,and the optimized LLU shows better response time performance when given a step signal,and presents a good trajectory tracking ability with the increase in motion frequency.展开更多
The abalone shell,a composite material whose cross-section is composed of inorganic and organic layers,has high strength and toughness.Inspired by the abalone shell,several multi-layer composite plates with different ...The abalone shell,a composite material whose cross-section is composed of inorganic and organic layers,has high strength and toughness.Inspired by the abalone shell,several multi-layer composite plates with different layer sequences and thicknesses are studied as bullet-proof material in this paper.To investigate the ballistic performance of this multi-layer structure,the complete characterization model and related material parameters of large deformation,failure and fracture ofAl_(2)O_(3)ceramics andCarbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer(CFRP)are studied.Then,3D finite element models of the proposed composite plates with different layer sequences and thicknesses impacted by a 12.7 mm armor-piercing incendiary(API)are built using Abaqus to predict failure.The simulation results show that the CFRP/Al2O3 ceramic/Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene(UHMWPE)/CFRP(1 mm/4 mm/4 mm/1 mm)composite is the optimized stack of layers.The simulation results under specified layer sequence and thickness have a reasonable correlation with the experimental results and reflect the failure and fracture of the multi-layer composite protective armor.展开更多
The mechanisms of soil structure interaction have drawn much attention in the past years in the installation and operation of jack-up platform. A bionic spudcan produced by biomimetic of egg and snail shell is propose...The mechanisms of soil structure interaction have drawn much attention in the past years in the installation and operation of jack-up platform. A bionic spudcan produced by biomimetic of egg and snail shell is proposed, and the performance of the penetration and extraction are analyzed by numerical method. The geometric contour of egg and snail shell is measured, and its mathematical model is established respectively. According to the structure of existing spudcan of jack-up platform, three kinds of typical biomimetic spudcan are designed. Furthermore, numerical analysis models of biomimetic spudcan are established respectively to study the soil structure interaction mechanism in the process of penetration and extraction, and contrastive analysis of resistance characteristics are carried out. To conclude, the results show that the biomimetic spudcan facilitates the platform installation, and it is also beneficial to the improvement of the bearing capacity of spudcan.展开更多
This investigation and morphology analysis of porous structure of some kinds of natural materials such as chicken eggshell, partridge eggshell, pig bone, and seeds of mung bean, soja, ginkgo, lotus seed, as well as th...This investigation and morphology analysis of porous structure of some kinds of natural materials such as chicken eggshell, partridge eggshell, pig bone, and seeds of mung bean, soja, ginkgo, lotus seed, as well as the epidermis of apples, with SEM (Scanning Electronic Microscope) showed that natural structures’ pores can be classified into uniform pores, gradient pores and multi pores from the viewpoint of the distribution variation of pore density, size and geometry. Furthermore, an optimal design of porous bearings was for the first time developed based on the gradient configuration of natural materials. The bionic design of porous structures is predicted to be widely developed and applied in the fields of materials and mechanical engineering in the future.展开更多
The biotic branch nets are extreme high-tech product. In order to achieve acertain functional objective, they can adjust their growth direction and growth velocity byaccording to the varying growth environment. An inn...The biotic branch nets are extreme high-tech product. In order to achieve acertain functional objective, they can adjust their growth direction and growth velocity byaccording to the varying growth environment. An innovative and effective methodology of topologydesign optimization based on the growth mechanism of biotic branch nets is suggested, and it isapplied to a layout design problem of a conductive cooling channel in a heat transfer system. Theeffectiveness of the method is validated by the FEM analysis.展开更多
Based on the analyses on arch and peltate venation structures, the design of reinforcing frames was improved. First, distribution rules of the arch structure were summarized. According to the load condition and the st...Based on the analyses on arch and peltate venation structures, the design of reinforcing frames was improved. First, distribution rules of the arch structure were summarized. According to the load condition and the structure of the frame, a mechanical model of arch structure was devel- oped, and two solutions for the model were analyzed and compared with each other. Through the a- nalysis, application rules of arch structure for improving the design were obtained. Then, distribu- tion rules of peltate venation structure were summarized. By using the same method, application rules of peltate venation structure for improving the design were also obtained. Finally, mechanical problem of the frame was described, and rib arrangement of the frame was redesigned. A parameter optimization for the widths of ribs in bionic arrangement was also carried out to accomplish the im- proving design. Comparison between bionic and conventional reinforcing frames shows that the weight is reduced by as much as 15.3%.展开更多
Inspired by the safe landing of cats falling from high altitudes,a bionic flexible rubber bushing structure is proposed and its motion characteristics are systematically studied to explore its potential application in...Inspired by the safe landing of cats falling from high altitudes,a bionic flexible rubber bushing structure is proposed and its motion characteristics are systematically studied to explore its potential application in the suppression of vibration.The convex hull structure on the bushing surface is abstracted from the cat’s claw pad,and the hyper-viscoelastic model is selected as the constitutive model of the rubber material.In addition,the design with the best vibration damping effect is finally obtained by reasonably adjusting the amount of radial compression and distribution of bionic structures.Finally,under the same conditions,the test results of the dynamic characteristics of the bushing verify the accuracy of the simulation results.Research results show that the convex hull bionic structure designed in this paper can effectively change the motion characteristics of the rubber bushing under various working conditions,which provides new inspiration or potential possibility for the design of rubber bushing in the future.展开更多
The robotic airship is one of the most unique and promising green aircraft,however,as a“lighter-than-air aircraft”and“thermal aircraft”,its long-endurance flight has great difficulties in decreasing drag and contr...The robotic airship is one of the most unique and promising green aircraft,however,as a“lighter-than-air aircraft”and“thermal aircraft”,its long-endurance flight has great difficulties in decreasing drag and controlling buoyancy and pressure under thermal effects.In this work,we reported a robotic airship inspired by the Physalia physalis,imitating its morphology,physiological structure,and biological behaviors.The hull is designed by imitating the morphology of the Physalia physalis,and the gasbags including a helium balloon,two ballonets,and a thermoregulation gasbag are designed by imitating the physiological structure and biological behaviors of the pneumatophore,bladder,and gland of the Physalia physalis,respectively.Experimental results show that the bionic airship has an increase of about 40%in lift-to-drag and decreases the pressure in helium balloon by 47.5%under thermal effects,and has better aerodynamic performances and thermoregulation performances than conventional airships.展开更多
High load-bearing efficiency is one of the advantages of biological structures after the evolution of billions of years. Biomimicking from nature may offer the potential for lightweight design. In the viewpoint ofrnec...High load-bearing efficiency is one of the advantages of biological structures after the evolution of billions of years. Biomimicking from nature may offer the potential for lightweight design. In the viewpoint ofrnechanics properties, the culm of bamboo comprises of two types of cells and the number of the vascular bundles takes a gradient of distribution. A three-point bending test was carried out to measure the elastic modulus. Results show that the elastic modulus of bamboo decreases gradually from the periphery towards the centre. Based on the structural characteristics of bamboo, a bionic cylindrical structure was designed to mimic the gradient distribution of vascular bundles and parenchyma cells. The buckling resistance of the bionic structure was compared with that of a traditional shell of equal mass under axial pressure by finite element simulations. Results show that the load-bearing capacity of bionic shell is increased by 124.8%. The buckling mode of bionic structure is global buckling while that of the conventional shell is local buckling.展开更多
Flapping-wing flight, as the distinctive flight method retained by natural flying creatures, contains profound aerodynamic principles and brings great inspirations and encouragements to drone developers. Though some i...Flapping-wing flight, as the distinctive flight method retained by natural flying creatures, contains profound aerodynamic principles and brings great inspirations and encouragements to drone developers. Though some ingenious flapping-wing robots have been designed during the past two decades, development and application of autonomous flapping-wing robots are less successful and still require further research. Here, we report the development of a servo-driven bird-like flapping-wing robot named USTBird-I and its application in autonomous airdrop.Inspired by birds, a camber structure and a dihedral angle adjustment mechanism are introduced into the airfoil design and motion control of the wings, respectively. Computational fluid dynamics simulations and actual flight tests show that this bionic design can significantly improve the gliding performance of the robot, which is beneficial to the execution of the airdrop mission.Finally, a vision-based airdrop experiment has been successfully implemented on USTBird-I, which is the first demonstration of a bird-like flapping-wing robot conducting an outdoor airdrop mission.展开更多
Structural bionic design lacks mature and scientific theories, and the excellent structural characteristics of natural organisms sometimes cannot be transferred into engineering structures effectively. Aiming at overc...Structural bionic design lacks mature and scientific theories, and the excellent structural characteristics of natural organisms sometimes cannot be transferred into engineering structures effectively. Aiming at overcoming the existing problems, this paper summarizes three related theories: similarity theory, fuzzy evaluation theory and optimization theory. Based on the related theories, a method of structural bionic design is introduced, which includes four steps: selecting the most useful structural characteristic of natural organism; analyzing the structural characteristic finally chosen for engineering problem; completing the structural bionic design for engineering structure; and verifying the structural bionic design. Similarity theory and fuzzy evaluation theory are employed to achieve Step 1. In Step 2 and Step 3, optimization theory is employed to analyze the parameters of structures. Together with the thoughts of simplification and grouping, optimization theory can reveal the relationship between organism structure and engineering structure, providing a way to structural bionic design. A general evaluation criterion is proposed in Step 4, which is feasible to evaluate the performance of different structures. Finally, based on the method, a structural bionic design of thin-walled cylindrical shell is introduced.展开更多
Wall climbing robots can be used to undertake missions in many unstructured environments.However,current wall climbing robots have mobility difficulties such as in the turning or accelarating.One of the main reasons f...Wall climbing robots can be used to undertake missions in many unstructured environments.However,current wall climbing robots have mobility difficulties such as in the turning or accelarating.One of the main reasons for the limitations is the poor flexibility of the spines.Soft robotic technology can actively enable structure deformation and stiffness varations,which provides a solution for the design of active flexible spines.This research utilizes pneumatic soft actuators to design a flexible spine with the abilities of actively bending and twisting by each joint.Using bending and torsion moment equilibriums,respectively,from air pressure to material deformations,the bending and twisting models for a single actuator with respect to different pressure are obtained.The theoretical models are verified by finite-element method simulations and experimental tests.In addition,the bending and twisiting motions of single joint and whole spine are analytically modeled.The results show that the bionic spine can perform desired deformations in accordance with the applied pressure on specified chambers.The variations of the stiffness are also numerically assessed.Finally,the effectiveness of the bionic flexible spine for actively producing sequenced motions as biological spine is experimentally validated.This work demonstrated that the peneumatic spine is potential to improve the spine flexibility of wall climbing robot.展开更多
A variety of prosthetic ankles have been successfully developed to reproduce the locomotor ability for lower limb amputees in daily lives. However, they have not been shown to sufficiently improve the natural gait mec...A variety of prosthetic ankles have been successfully developed to reproduce the locomotor ability for lower limb amputees in daily lives. However, they have not been shown to sufficiently improve the natural gait mechanics commonly observed in comparison to the able-bodied, perhaps due to over-simplified designs of functional musculoskeletal structures in prostheses. In this study, a flexible bionic ankle prosthesis with joints covered by soft material inclusions is developed on the basis of the human musculoskeletal system. First, the healthy side ankle–foot bones of a below-knee amputee were reconstructed by CT imaging. Three types of polyurethane rubber material configurations were then designed to mimic the soft tissues around the human ankle, providing stability and flexibility. Finite element simulations were conducted to determine the proper design of the rubber materials, evaluate the ankle stiffness under different external conditions, and calculate the rotation axes of the ankle during walking. The results showed that the bionic ankle had variable stiffness properties and could adapt to various road surfaces. It also had rotation axes similar to that of the human ankle, thus restoring the function of the talocrural and subtalar joints. The inclination and deviation angles of the talocrural axis, 86.2° and 75.1°, respectively, as well as the angles of the subtalar axis, 40.1° and 29.9°, were consistent with the literature. Finally, dynamic characteristics were investigated by gait measurements on the same subject, and the flexible bionic ankle prosthesis demonstrated natural gait mechanics during walking in terms of ankle angles and moments.展开更多
The physical compliance of interaction is an important requirement for safe and efficient collaboration between robots and humans,and the realization of human–robot compliance requires robot joints with variable stif...The physical compliance of interaction is an important requirement for safe and efficient collaboration between robots and humans,and the realization of human–robot compliance requires robot joints with variable stiffness similar to those of human joints.In this study,based on the tissue structure and driving principle of the human arm muscle ligament,a robot joint with variable stiffness is designed,consisting of an elastic belt and serial elastic actuator in parallel.The variable stiffness of the joint is realized by adjusting the tension length of the elastic belt.Surface electromyography(sEMG)signals of the human arm are used as the characterization quantity of joint stiffness to establish the pseudostiffness model of the elbow joint.The stiffness of the robot joints is adjusted in real-time to match the human arm stiffness based on the changes in sEMG signals of the human arm during operation.Real-time compliant interaction of human–robot collaboration is realized based on an end stiffness matching strategy.Additionally,to verify the effectiveness of the human joint stiffness matching-based compliance control strategy,a human–robot cooperative lifting experiment was designed.The bionic variable stiffness joint shows good stiffness adjustment,and the human–robot joint stiffness matching strategy based on human sEMG signals can improve the effectiveness and comfort of human–robot collaboration.展开更多
Light-weight,high-strength metamaterials with excellent specific energy absorption(SEA)capabilities are sig-nificant for aerospace and automobile.The SEA of metamaterials largely depends on the material and structural...Light-weight,high-strength metamaterials with excellent specific energy absorption(SEA)capabilities are sig-nificant for aerospace and automobile.The SEA of metamaterials largely depends on the material and structural design.Herein,inspired by the superior impact resistance of pomelo peel for protecting the pulp and the elevated SEA ability of a functionally graded structure,a graded bionic polyhedron metamaterial(GBPM)was designed and realized by 3D printing using a soft material(photosensitive resin)and a hard material(Ti-6Al-4V).Guided by compression tests and numerical simulations,the elevated SEA ability was independent of the materials.The fluctuation region appeared in hard-material-fabricated bionic polyhedron metamaterial(BPMs)and was absent in soft-material-fabricated BPMs in the stress-strain curves,resulting in the growth rate of the SEA value of the soft-material-fabricated GBPM being enhanced by 5.9 times compared with that of the hard-material-fabricated GBPM.The SEA values of soft-and hard-material-fabricated GBPM were 1.89 and 44.16 J/g,which exceed those of most soft-and hard-material-fabricated metamaterials reported in previous studies.These findings can guide the design of metamaterials with high energy absorption to resist external impacts.展开更多
By imitating the body structure and movement mode of the crab in nature,a novel stick–slip piezo-driven positioning platform was proposed by employing the bionic flexible hinge mechanism with a symmetrical structure ...By imitating the body structure and movement mode of the crab in nature,a novel stick–slip piezo-driven positioning platform was proposed by employing the bionic flexible hinge mechanism with a symmetrical structure and two piezoelectric stacks.The structural design and bionic motion principle were discussed,followed by analyzing the feasibility,safety,and output magnification ratio of the bionic flexible hinge mechanism via the stiffness matrix method and finite element simulation.To investigate the output performances of the positioning platform,a prototype was fabricated and an experiment system was established.Stepping characteristics of the positioning platform under various driving voltages were characterized,and the results indicated that the positioning platform could move steadily under various driving voltages.Within 1 s,the differences between the forward and reverse output displacement were less than 3%under different driving frequencies,proving the high bidirectional motion symmetry.The maximum driving speed of 5.44 mm/s was obtained under the driving voltage of 120 V and driving frequency of 5 Hz.In addition,the carrying load capacity of the positioning platform was tested by standard weights,and the results showed that when the carrying load reached 10 N,the driving speed could still reach 60μm/s.展开更多
To improve the innovation of agricultural machinery product styling,this paper proposes a shape structure behavior function(SSBF)model suitable for the industrial design field.The feature line evolution method combini...To improve the innovation of agricultural machinery product styling,this paper proposes a shape structure behavior function(SSBF)model suitable for the industrial design field.The feature line evolution method combining shape grammar and genetic algorithm was used for modelling the of the grader,which not only maintains the product style characteristics but also reflects the typical identification characteristics of the bionic prototype and produces a new product modelling scheme.By conducting cognitive and recognition experiments on product styling features,the ranking of product styling features and the contribution of each component to product styling were determined.The method of combining shape grammar and quadratic Bézier curve was used to express and encode feature lines,and genetic algorithm was used to evolve biomimetic forms to form product feature lines with typical biological morphological features;The extracted form bionic elements were integrated into the grader modelling design,and the interaction evaluation was carried out through the genetic algorithm evolution scheme.The basic form elements were extracted and analyzed,and the deduction rules were formulated and reorganized.The derived feature line geometric data considered the product’s image features and the bio-inspired prototype,which can be used for the follow-up guidance of industrial design schemes.展开更多
High-speed machine tool working table restrains the machining accuracy and machining efficiency,so lightweight design of the table is an important issue.In nature,leaf has developed a plate structure that maximizes th...High-speed machine tool working table restrains the machining accuracy and machining efficiency,so lightweight design of the table is an important issue.In nature,leaf has developed a plate structure that maximizes the surface-to-volume ratio.It can be seen as a plate structure stiffened by veins.Compared with a high-speed machine tool working table,leaf veins play a role of supporting part which is similar to that of stiffening ribs,and they can provide some new design ideas for lightweight design of the table.In this paper,distribution rules of leaf veins were investigated,and a structural bionic design for the table was achieved based on regulation of leaf veins.First,statistical analysis on geometric structure of leaf veins was carried out,and four distribution rules were obtained.Then,relevant mechanical models were developed and analyzed in finite element software.Based on the results from mechanical analysis on those relevant models,the four distribution rules were translated into the design rules and a structural bionic design for the working table was achieved.Both simulation and experimental verifications were carried out,and results showed that the average displacement of the working table was reduced by about 33.9%.展开更多
Standing up refers to the transition from the seating to the standing postures to perform a movement that involves several body segments and requires both voluntary action and equilibrium control during an important d...Standing up refers to the transition from the seating to the standing postures to perform a movement that involves several body segments and requires both voluntary action and equilibrium control during an important displacement of the body Centre of Gravity (COG). This task can be considered very important for people with reduced mobility to achieve minimal independence in Activity of Daily Living (ADL). In this paper, we propose solutions for the homecare of persons with reduced mobility, describing a functional design to customize assisting devices for the Sit-to-Stand (STS). In particular, the support mechanism that generates the requested motion and sustains the body of a person can be synthesized ad-hoc according to the experimental data of the subject. Experimental tests carried out during the Sit-To-Stand are used to track and record point trajectories and the orientation of the trunk of an individual, and they are used to design a 1-DOF mechanism able to reproduce the assigned rigid-body motion. A four-bar linkage has been synthesized according to the desired features. Simulation results are reported to illustrate the engineering soundness of the proposed mechatronic solution.展开更多
Energy consumption and acoustic noise can be significantly reduced through perching in the sustained flights of small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAVs).However,the existing flying perching robots lack good adaptability o...Energy consumption and acoustic noise can be significantly reduced through perching in the sustained flights of small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAVs).However,the existing flying perching robots lack good adaptability or loading capacity in unstructured environments.Aiming at solving these problems,a deformable UAV perching mechanism with strong adaptability and high loading capacity,which is inspired by the structure and movements of birds'feet,is presented in this paper.Three elastic toes,an inverted crank slider mechanism used to realize the opening and closing movements,and a gear mechanism used to deform between two configurations are included in this mechanism.With experiments on its performance towards different objects,Results show that it can perch on various objects reliably,and its payload is more than 15 times its weight.By integrating it with a quadcopter,it can perch on different types of targets in outdoor environments,such as tree branches,cables,eaves,and spherical lamps.In addition,the energy consumption of the UAV perching system when perching on objects can be reduced to 0.015 times that of hovering.展开更多
基金The work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.U21A20124 and 52205059)the Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province(No.2022C01039)。
文摘Galloping cheetahs,climbing mountain goats,and load hauling horses all show desirable locomotion capability,which motivates the development of quadruped robots.Among various quadruped robots,hydraulically driven quadruped robots show great potential in unstructured environments due to their discrete landing positions and large payloads.As the most critical movement unit of a quadruped robot,the limb leg unit(LLU)directly affects movement speed and reliability,and requires a compact and lightweight design.Inspired by the dexterous skeleton–muscle systems of cheetahs and humans,this paper proposes a highly integrated bionic actuator system for a better dynamic performance of an LLU.We propose that a cylinder barrel with multiple element interfaces and internal smooth channels is realized using metal additive manufacturing,and hybrid lattice structures are introduced into the lightweight design of the piston rod.In addition,additive manufacturing and topology optimization are incorporated to reduce the redundant material of the structural parts of the LLU.The mechanical properties of the actuator system are verified by numerical simulation and experiments,and the power density of the actuators is far greater than that of cheetah muscle.The mass of the optimized LLU is reduced by 24.5%,and the optimized LLU shows better response time performance when given a step signal,and presents a good trajectory tracking ability with the increase in motion frequency.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(W.Zhang,Grant No.12220101002)Shaanxi Provincial Key Science and Technology Innovation Team(Y.Xu,Grant No.2023-CX-TD-14)+1 种基金the Young Talent Fund of Association for Science and Technology in Shaanxi,China(D.Jia,Grant No.20230240)the Chinese Studentship Council(D.Jia,Grant No.201908060224).
文摘The abalone shell,a composite material whose cross-section is composed of inorganic and organic layers,has high strength and toughness.Inspired by the abalone shell,several multi-layer composite plates with different layer sequences and thicknesses are studied as bullet-proof material in this paper.To investigate the ballistic performance of this multi-layer structure,the complete characterization model and related material parameters of large deformation,failure and fracture ofAl_(2)O_(3)ceramics andCarbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer(CFRP)are studied.Then,3D finite element models of the proposed composite plates with different layer sequences and thicknesses impacted by a 12.7 mm armor-piercing incendiary(API)are built using Abaqus to predict failure.The simulation results show that the CFRP/Al2O3 ceramic/Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene(UHMWPE)/CFRP(1 mm/4 mm/4 mm/1 mm)composite is the optimized stack of layers.The simulation results under specified layer sequence and thickness have a reasonable correlation with the experimental results and reflect the failure and fracture of the multi-layer composite protective armor.
基金financially supported by the Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province(Grant No.KYCX18_2311)
文摘The mechanisms of soil structure interaction have drawn much attention in the past years in the installation and operation of jack-up platform. A bionic spudcan produced by biomimetic of egg and snail shell is proposed, and the performance of the penetration and extraction are analyzed by numerical method. The geometric contour of egg and snail shell is measured, and its mathematical model is established respectively. According to the structure of existing spudcan of jack-up platform, three kinds of typical biomimetic spudcan are designed. Furthermore, numerical analysis models of biomimetic spudcan are established respectively to study the soil structure interaction mechanism in the process of penetration and extraction, and contrastive analysis of resistance characteristics are carried out. To conclude, the results show that the biomimetic spudcan facilitates the platform installation, and it is also beneficial to the improvement of the bearing capacity of spudcan.
文摘This investigation and morphology analysis of porous structure of some kinds of natural materials such as chicken eggshell, partridge eggshell, pig bone, and seeds of mung bean, soja, ginkgo, lotus seed, as well as the epidermis of apples, with SEM (Scanning Electronic Microscope) showed that natural structures’ pores can be classified into uniform pores, gradient pores and multi pores from the viewpoint of the distribution variation of pore density, size and geometry. Furthermore, an optimal design of porous bearings was for the first time developed based on the gradient configuration of natural materials. The bionic design of porous structures is predicted to be widely developed and applied in the fields of materials and mechanical engineering in the future.
基金This project is supported by Municipal Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai(No.04ZR14098).
文摘The biotic branch nets are extreme high-tech product. In order to achieve acertain functional objective, they can adjust their growth direction and growth velocity byaccording to the varying growth environment. An innovative and effective methodology of topologydesign optimization based on the growth mechanism of biotic branch nets is suggested, and it isapplied to a layout design problem of a conductive cooling channel in a heat transfer system. Theeffectiveness of the method is validated by the FEM analysis.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of Chi- na ( 50975012 ) Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China ( 20091102110022 ) Innovation Foundation of BUAA for PhD Graduates (YWF-12-RBYJ-015)
文摘Based on the analyses on arch and peltate venation structures, the design of reinforcing frames was improved. First, distribution rules of the arch structure were summarized. According to the load condition and the structure of the frame, a mechanical model of arch structure was devel- oped, and two solutions for the model were analyzed and compared with each other. Through the a- nalysis, application rules of arch structure for improving the design were obtained. Then, distribu- tion rules of peltate venation structure were summarized. By using the same method, application rules of peltate venation structure for improving the design were also obtained. Finally, mechanical problem of the frame was described, and rib arrangement of the frame was redesigned. A parameter optimization for the widths of ribs in bionic arrangement was also carried out to accomplish the im- proving design. Comparison between bionic and conventional reinforcing frames shows that the weight is reduced by as much as 15.3%.
基金The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial supports from the Jilin Provincial Scientific and Technological Department(20220201123GX).
文摘Inspired by the safe landing of cats falling from high altitudes,a bionic flexible rubber bushing structure is proposed and its motion characteristics are systematically studied to explore its potential application in the suppression of vibration.The convex hull structure on the bushing surface is abstracted from the cat’s claw pad,and the hyper-viscoelastic model is selected as the constitutive model of the rubber material.In addition,the design with the best vibration damping effect is finally obtained by reasonably adjusting the amount of radial compression and distribution of bionic structures.Finally,under the same conditions,the test results of the dynamic characteristics of the bushing verify the accuracy of the simulation results.Research results show that the convex hull bionic structure designed in this paper can effectively change the motion characteristics of the rubber bushing under various working conditions,which provides new inspiration or potential possibility for the design of rubber bushing in the future.
基金supported by the Aeronautical Science Foundation of China(2017ZA88001)National Natural Science Foundation of China(11502288)and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(47661).
文摘The robotic airship is one of the most unique and promising green aircraft,however,as a“lighter-than-air aircraft”and“thermal aircraft”,its long-endurance flight has great difficulties in decreasing drag and controlling buoyancy and pressure under thermal effects.In this work,we reported a robotic airship inspired by the Physalia physalis,imitating its morphology,physiological structure,and biological behaviors.The hull is designed by imitating the morphology of the Physalia physalis,and the gasbags including a helium balloon,two ballonets,and a thermoregulation gasbag are designed by imitating the physiological structure and biological behaviors of the pneumatophore,bladder,and gland of the Physalia physalis,respectively.Experimental results show that the bionic airship has an increase of about 40%in lift-to-drag and decreases the pressure in helium balloon by 47.5%under thermal effects,and has better aerodynamic performances and thermoregulation performances than conventional airships.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50575008)the Aeronautical Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 05B01004)
文摘High load-bearing efficiency is one of the advantages of biological structures after the evolution of billions of years. Biomimicking from nature may offer the potential for lightweight design. In the viewpoint ofrnechanics properties, the culm of bamboo comprises of two types of cells and the number of the vascular bundles takes a gradient of distribution. A three-point bending test was carried out to measure the elastic modulus. Results show that the elastic modulus of bamboo decreases gradually from the periphery towards the centre. Based on the structural characteristics of bamboo, a bionic cylindrical structure was designed to mimic the gradient distribution of vascular bundles and parenchyma cells. The buckling resistance of the bionic structure was compared with that of a traditional shell of equal mass under axial pressure by finite element simulations. Results show that the load-bearing capacity of bionic shell is increased by 124.8%. The buckling mode of bionic structure is global buckling while that of the conventional shell is local buckling.
基金supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(62225304,61933001,61921004,62173031)the Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation(JQ20026)+1 种基金the Beijing Top Discipline for Artificial Intelligent Science and Engineering,University of Science and Technology Beijing。
文摘Flapping-wing flight, as the distinctive flight method retained by natural flying creatures, contains profound aerodynamic principles and brings great inspirations and encouragements to drone developers. Though some ingenious flapping-wing robots have been designed during the past two decades, development and application of autonomous flapping-wing robots are less successful and still require further research. Here, we report the development of a servo-driven bird-like flapping-wing robot named USTBird-I and its application in autonomous airdrop.Inspired by birds, a camber structure and a dihedral angle adjustment mechanism are introduced into the airfoil design and motion control of the wings, respectively. Computational fluid dynamics simulations and actual flight tests show that this bionic design can significantly improve the gliding performance of the robot, which is beneficial to the execution of the airdrop mission.Finally, a vision-based airdrop experiment has been successfully implemented on USTBird-I, which is the first demonstration of a bird-like flapping-wing robot conducting an outdoor airdrop mission.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50975012)Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (No. 20091102110022)
文摘Structural bionic design lacks mature and scientific theories, and the excellent structural characteristics of natural organisms sometimes cannot be transferred into engineering structures effectively. Aiming at overcoming the existing problems, this paper summarizes three related theories: similarity theory, fuzzy evaluation theory and optimization theory. Based on the related theories, a method of structural bionic design is introduced, which includes four steps: selecting the most useful structural characteristic of natural organism; analyzing the structural characteristic finally chosen for engineering problem; completing the structural bionic design for engineering structure; and verifying the structural bionic design. Similarity theory and fuzzy evaluation theory are employed to achieve Step 1. In Step 2 and Step 3, optimization theory is employed to analyze the parameters of structures. Together with the thoughts of simplification and grouping, optimization theory can reveal the relationship between organism structure and engineering structure, providing a way to structural bionic design. A general evaluation criterion is proposed in Step 4, which is feasible to evaluate the performance of different structures. Finally, based on the method, a structural bionic design of thin-walled cylindrical shell is introduced.
基金the Foundation Research Project of Jiangsu Province Natural Science Fund(No.BK20190415).
文摘Wall climbing robots can be used to undertake missions in many unstructured environments.However,current wall climbing robots have mobility difficulties such as in the turning or accelarating.One of the main reasons for the limitations is the poor flexibility of the spines.Soft robotic technology can actively enable structure deformation and stiffness varations,which provides a solution for the design of active flexible spines.This research utilizes pneumatic soft actuators to design a flexible spine with the abilities of actively bending and twisting by each joint.Using bending and torsion moment equilibriums,respectively,from air pressure to material deformations,the bending and twisting models for a single actuator with respect to different pressure are obtained.The theoretical models are verified by finite-element method simulations and experimental tests.In addition,the bending and twisiting motions of single joint and whole spine are analytically modeled.The results show that the bionic spine can perform desired deformations in accordance with the applied pressure on specified chambers.The variations of the stiffness are also numerically assessed.Finally,the effectiveness of the bionic flexible spine for actively producing sequenced motions as biological spine is experimentally validated.This work demonstrated that the peneumatic spine is potential to improve the spine flexibility of wall climbing robot.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2018YFC2001300)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52005209,91948302,No.91848204,No.52021003)the Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province(No.20210101053JC,No.20220508130RC).
文摘A variety of prosthetic ankles have been successfully developed to reproduce the locomotor ability for lower limb amputees in daily lives. However, they have not been shown to sufficiently improve the natural gait mechanics commonly observed in comparison to the able-bodied, perhaps due to over-simplified designs of functional musculoskeletal structures in prostheses. In this study, a flexible bionic ankle prosthesis with joints covered by soft material inclusions is developed on the basis of the human musculoskeletal system. First, the healthy side ankle–foot bones of a below-knee amputee were reconstructed by CT imaging. Three types of polyurethane rubber material configurations were then designed to mimic the soft tissues around the human ankle, providing stability and flexibility. Finite element simulations were conducted to determine the proper design of the rubber materials, evaluate the ankle stiffness under different external conditions, and calculate the rotation axes of the ankle during walking. The results showed that the bionic ankle had variable stiffness properties and could adapt to various road surfaces. It also had rotation axes similar to that of the human ankle, thus restoring the function of the talocrural and subtalar joints. The inclination and deviation angles of the talocrural axis, 86.2° and 75.1°, respectively, as well as the angles of the subtalar axis, 40.1° and 29.9°, were consistent with the literature. Finally, dynamic characteristics were investigated by gait measurements on the same subject, and the flexible bionic ankle prosthesis demonstrated natural gait mechanics during walking in terms of ankle angles and moments.
基金supported by the Science and Technology Innovation 2030-"Brain Science and Brain-like Research"Major Project,China(2021ZD0201403).
文摘The physical compliance of interaction is an important requirement for safe and efficient collaboration between robots and humans,and the realization of human–robot compliance requires robot joints with variable stiffness similar to those of human joints.In this study,based on the tissue structure and driving principle of the human arm muscle ligament,a robot joint with variable stiffness is designed,consisting of an elastic belt and serial elastic actuator in parallel.The variable stiffness of the joint is realized by adjusting the tension length of the elastic belt.Surface electromyography(sEMG)signals of the human arm are used as the characterization quantity of joint stiffness to establish the pseudostiffness model of the elbow joint.The stiffness of the robot joints is adjusted in real-time to match the human arm stiffness based on the changes in sEMG signals of the human arm during operation.Real-time compliant interaction of human–robot collaboration is realized based on an end stiffness matching strategy.Additionally,to verify the effectiveness of the human joint stiffness matching-based compliance control strategy,a human–robot cooperative lifting experiment was designed.The bionic variable stiffness joint shows good stiffness adjustment,and the human–robot joint stiffness matching strategy based on human sEMG signals can improve the effectiveness and comfort of human–robot collaboration.
基金supported by Guangdong Provincial Key-Area Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2020B090923001)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.51922044,52205358)Central Universities Funda-mental Research Funds of China(Grant No.HUST:2022JYCXJJ021).
文摘Light-weight,high-strength metamaterials with excellent specific energy absorption(SEA)capabilities are sig-nificant for aerospace and automobile.The SEA of metamaterials largely depends on the material and structural design.Herein,inspired by the superior impact resistance of pomelo peel for protecting the pulp and the elevated SEA ability of a functionally graded structure,a graded bionic polyhedron metamaterial(GBPM)was designed and realized by 3D printing using a soft material(photosensitive resin)and a hard material(Ti-6Al-4V).Guided by compression tests and numerical simulations,the elevated SEA ability was independent of the materials.The fluctuation region appeared in hard-material-fabricated bionic polyhedron metamaterial(BPMs)and was absent in soft-material-fabricated BPMs in the stress-strain curves,resulting in the growth rate of the SEA value of the soft-material-fabricated GBPM being enhanced by 5.9 times compared with that of the hard-material-fabricated GBPM.The SEA values of soft-and hard-material-fabricated GBPM were 1.89 and 44.16 J/g,which exceed those of most soft-and hard-material-fabricated metamaterials reported in previous studies.These findings can guide the design of metamaterials with high energy absorption to resist external impacts.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.52075221)the Research Foundation of Education Department of Jilin Province,China(Grant No.JJKH20231153KJ)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(2019-2023).
文摘By imitating the body structure and movement mode of the crab in nature,a novel stick–slip piezo-driven positioning platform was proposed by employing the bionic flexible hinge mechanism with a symmetrical structure and two piezoelectric stacks.The structural design and bionic motion principle were discussed,followed by analyzing the feasibility,safety,and output magnification ratio of the bionic flexible hinge mechanism via the stiffness matrix method and finite element simulation.To investigate the output performances of the positioning platform,a prototype was fabricated and an experiment system was established.Stepping characteristics of the positioning platform under various driving voltages were characterized,and the results indicated that the positioning platform could move steadily under various driving voltages.Within 1 s,the differences between the forward and reverse output displacement were less than 3%under different driving frequencies,proving the high bidirectional motion symmetry.The maximum driving speed of 5.44 mm/s was obtained under the driving voltage of 120 V and driving frequency of 5 Hz.In addition,the carrying load capacity of the positioning platform was tested by standard weights,and the results showed that when the carrying load reached 10 N,the driving speed could still reach 60μm/s.
基金financially supported by the key research and development project of Shandong Province(Grant No.2021LYXT012)the independent innovation special project of Shandong Province-intelligent laser grader research and industrial demonstration(Grant No.2013CXC90203)。
文摘To improve the innovation of agricultural machinery product styling,this paper proposes a shape structure behavior function(SSBF)model suitable for the industrial design field.The feature line evolution method combining shape grammar and genetic algorithm was used for modelling the of the grader,which not only maintains the product style characteristics but also reflects the typical identification characteristics of the bionic prototype and produces a new product modelling scheme.By conducting cognitive and recognition experiments on product styling features,the ranking of product styling features and the contribution of each component to product styling were determined.The method of combining shape grammar and quadratic Bézier curve was used to express and encode feature lines,and genetic algorithm was used to evolve biomimetic forms to form product feature lines with typical biological morphological features;The extracted form bionic elements were integrated into the grader modelling design,and the interaction evaluation was carried out through the genetic algorithm evolution scheme.The basic form elements were extracted and analyzed,and the deduction rules were formulated and reorganized.The derived feature line geometric data considered the product’s image features and the bio-inspired prototype,which can be used for the follow-up guidance of industrial design schemes.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50975012)the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (Grant No. 20091102110022)
文摘High-speed machine tool working table restrains the machining accuracy and machining efficiency,so lightweight design of the table is an important issue.In nature,leaf has developed a plate structure that maximizes the surface-to-volume ratio.It can be seen as a plate structure stiffened by veins.Compared with a high-speed machine tool working table,leaf veins play a role of supporting part which is similar to that of stiffening ribs,and they can provide some new design ideas for lightweight design of the table.In this paper,distribution rules of leaf veins were investigated,and a structural bionic design for the table was achieved based on regulation of leaf veins.First,statistical analysis on geometric structure of leaf veins was carried out,and four distribution rules were obtained.Then,relevant mechanical models were developed and analyzed in finite element software.Based on the results from mechanical analysis on those relevant models,the four distribution rules were translated into the design rules and a structural bionic design for the working table was achieved.Both simulation and experimental verifications were carried out,and results showed that the average displacement of the working table was reduced by about 33.9%.
文摘Standing up refers to the transition from the seating to the standing postures to perform a movement that involves several body segments and requires both voluntary action and equilibrium control during an important displacement of the body Centre of Gravity (COG). This task can be considered very important for people with reduced mobility to achieve minimal independence in Activity of Daily Living (ADL). In this paper, we propose solutions for the homecare of persons with reduced mobility, describing a functional design to customize assisting devices for the Sit-to-Stand (STS). In particular, the support mechanism that generates the requested motion and sustains the body of a person can be synthesized ad-hoc according to the experimental data of the subject. Experimental tests carried out during the Sit-To-Stand are used to track and record point trajectories and the orientation of the trunk of an individual, and they are used to design a 1-DOF mechanism able to reproduce the assigned rigid-body motion. A four-bar linkage has been synthesized according to the desired features. Simulation results are reported to illustrate the engineering soundness of the proposed mechatronic solution.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China[Grant No.2020YFB1313000]National Natural Science Foundation of China[Grant No.51975070,62003060,62073211].
文摘Energy consumption and acoustic noise can be significantly reduced through perching in the sustained flights of small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAVs).However,the existing flying perching robots lack good adaptability or loading capacity in unstructured environments.Aiming at solving these problems,a deformable UAV perching mechanism with strong adaptability and high loading capacity,which is inspired by the structure and movements of birds'feet,is presented in this paper.Three elastic toes,an inverted crank slider mechanism used to realize the opening and closing movements,and a gear mechanism used to deform between two configurations are included in this mechanism.With experiments on its performance towards different objects,Results show that it can perch on various objects reliably,and its payload is more than 15 times its weight.By integrating it with a quadcopter,it can perch on different types of targets in outdoor environments,such as tree branches,cables,eaves,and spherical lamps.In addition,the energy consumption of the UAV perching system when perching on objects can be reduced to 0.015 times that of hovering.