Structural design and stiffness matching control of bionic variable stiffness joint for human–robot collaboration

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.

Development of a Composite Suspension with a Coil and Hydro-Pneumatic Spring

A new composite suspension is developed, where a coil spring and a hydro-pneumatic spring are used in order to improve the poor reliability of off-road vehicle with pure hydro-pneumatic suspension. According to road conditions, the two springs play different roles. The method for matching the composite suspension stiffness and distributing the load is proposed. The working pressure of hydro-pneumatic spring as well as the load and stiffness characteristics of composite suspension is compared with a pure hydro-pneumatic suspension. In addition, the ISO weighted vehicle body acceleration, suspension travel and relative dynamic load of the wheels between two kinds of suspension are analyzed with a quarter vehicle mode. The simulation result shows that the developed composite suspension is more suitable for off-road vehicle than the one hydro-pneumatic suspension, because the composite suspension can reduce the working pressure, improve the reliability and keep a similar ride comfort with hydro-pneumatic suspension.

Evaluation of Myocardial Strain and Aortic Elasticity in Patients with Bicuspid Aortic Valve

This study evaluated the myocardial strain and aortic elasticity in patients with bicuspid aortic valve（BAV） and then investigated the relation between them. Thirty-nine patients（30 males; mean age 44±19 years; range 6 to 75 years） with BAV were recruited as BAV group, and 29 age- and sex-matched healthy controls（21 males; mean age 42±11 years; range 20 to 71 years） served as control group. Aortic strain, distensibility and stiffness index were derived using M-mode echocardiography. Left ventricular global myocardial strain was acquired with speckle-tracking echocardiography. Correlation between aortic elasticity and myocardial strain was also analyzed. The results showed that aortic stiffness was higher（17.5±14.0 vs. 5.3±2.7, P〈0.001）, and aortic strain（4.9±4.7 vs. 11.0±4.1, P〈0.001） and distensibility（1.8±2.1 vs. 3.7±1.6, P〈0.001） were lower significantly in BAV group than in control group. Global circumferential strain（–19.1±4.2 vs. –22.5±3.7, P〈0.001）, radial stain（29.8±14.9 vs. 38.0±8.8, P〈0.001） and longitudinal stain（–18.4±3.4 vs. –20.8±3.5, P〈0.001） were significantly lower in BAV group than in control group. There was weak association between aortic elasticity and myocardial strain. These findings indicated BAV patients manifest reduced myocardial strain which had weak relationship with aortic elastic lesion.

Influence of secondary lining thickness on mechanical behaviours of double-layer lining in large-diameter shield tunnels

In large-diameter shield tunnels,applying the double-layer lining structure can improve the load-bearing properties and maintain the stability of segmental lining.The secondary lining thickness is a key parameter in the design of a double lining structure,which is worth being explored.Based on an actual large-diameter shield tunnel,loading model tests are carried out to investigate the effect of the secondary lining thickness on the mechanical behaviours of the double lining structure.The test results show that within the range of secondary lining thicknesses discussed,the load-bearing limit of the double-layer lining increases with growing secondary lining thickness.As a passive support,the secondary lining acts as an auxiliary load-bearing structure by contacting the segment.And changes in secondary lining thickness have a significant effect on the contact state between the segment and secondary lining,with both the contact pressure level and the contact area between the two varying.For double-layer lining structures in large-diameter shield tunnels,it is proposed that the stiffness of the secondary lining needs to be matched to the stiffness of the segment,as this allows them to have a coordinated deformation and a good joint load-bearing effect.