Dynamic modelling and properties analysis of 3RSR parallel mechanism considering spherical joint clearance and wear

The collision and wear caused by inevitable clearance in kinematic pair have an effect on the dynamic characteristics of the mechanism.Therefore,we established the dynamic model of a 3RSR(R is the revolute joint and S is the spherical joint)parallel mechanism with spherical joint clearance based on the modified Flores contact force model and the modified Coulomb friction model using Newton-Euler method.The standard quaternion was introduced in the constraint equation,and the four-order Runge-Kutta method was adopted to solve the 3RSR dynamic model.The simulation results were compared and analyzed with the numerical results.The geometrical parameters of the worn ball socket were solved based on the Archard wear model,and the geometrical reconstruction of the worn surface was carried out.The geometric reconstruction parameters were substituted into the dynamic model,which was to analyze the dynamic response of the 3RSR parallel mechanism with wear and spherical joint clearance.The simulation results show that the irregular wear occurs in the spherical joint with clearance under the presence of the impact and friction force.The long-term wear will increase the fluctuation of the contact force,thereby decreasing the movement stability of the mechanism.

Theory of Degrees of Freedom for Parallel Mechanisms with Three Spherical Joints and Its Applications

The analysis of degrees of freedom（DOF） of a moving platform is the fundamental problem in kinematics of parallel mechanism. However, many problems should be considered to correctly perform the DOF calculation by using the traditional DOF criterion, and it is difficult to find a DOF criterion suitable for all kinds of mechanisms. A rule that can be used to determine the position and orientation of the moving platform is presented. Based on the proposed rule, a new form of DOF criterion is proposed, which is suitable for a class of parallel mechanisms with three spherical joints attached to the moving platform. The basic types of generalized limb structures are given based on the possible dimension of achieving the center of spherical joint attached to the moving platform, and the general steps of analyzing the DOF are presented. This proposed formula simplifies the DOF analysis of parallel mechanisms with spherical joints attached to the moving platform, and plays an important role in structural synthesis of such parallel mechanisms.

Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Hollow Spherical Joints Welded with Circular Pipes under Eccentric Loads

The hollow spherical joints welded with circular pipes applied to the National Swimming Center of China are subjected to large bending moments, but the influence of bending moments is not considered in the design equations in Technical Specification for Latticed Shells. Based on the von Mises yield criterion, multilinear isotropic hardening rule and associated flow rule, the elasto-plastic finite element model is put forward to analyze the behavior of the joints, and a calculation method for the joints under bending moments or eccentric loads is proposed. It is shown by the analytical results of joint that the stiffening rib can improve the ultimate bearing capacity by 10% for joints under axial tensile load, by 40% for joints under axial compressive load, and by 50% for joints under bending moment. The unified calculation equations for joints with or without stiffening rib are put forward, which can be applied to calculating the ultimate bearing capacity of the hollow spherical joints with circular pipes under eccentric loads.

Static Force-Based Modeling and Parameter Estimation for a Deformable Link Composed of Passive Spherical Joints With Preload Forces

To balance the contradiction between higher flexibility and heavier load bearing capacity,we present a novel deformable manipulator which is composed of active rigid joints and deformable links.The deformable link is composed of passive spherical joints with preload forces between socket-ball surfaces.To estimate the load bearing capacity of a deformable link,we present a static force-based model of spherical joint with preload force and analyze the static force propagation in the deformable link.This yields an important result that the load bearing capacity of a spherical joint only depends on its radius,preload force,and static friction coefficient.We further develop a parameter estimation method to estimate the product of preload force and static friction coefficient.The experimental results validate our model.80.4%of percentage errors on the maximum payload mass prediction are below 15%.

Experiments on Large-Diameter Welded Hollow Spherical Joint

We experimented on welded hollow spherical joint of a stadium steel roof to investigate the stress and strain distributions on the surface of the joint and determine the ultimate bearing capacity. Then, finite element analysis was made to experimental results. When the test load was 140% of the design load, the stress at the bottom of the fourth wimble pipe reached the yield point. The experimental results agree with the analytical results well.

Dynamic Modeling and Analysis of 4UPS-UPU Spatial Parallel Mechanism with Spherical Clearance Joint

Clearance between the moving joints is unavoidable in real working process. At present, many researches are mainly focused on dynamics of plane revolute joint in plane mechanism, but few on dynamics of spatial spherical joint clearance in spatial parallel mechanism. In this paper, a general method is proposed for establishing dynamic equations of spatial parallel mechanism with spatial spherical clearance by Lagrange multiplier method. The kinematic model and contact force model of the spherical joint clearance were established successively. Lagrange multiplier method was used to deduce the dynamics equation of 4 UPS-UPU mechanism with spherical clearance joint systematically. The influence of friction coefficient on dynamics response of 4 UPS-UPU mechanism with spherical clearance joint was analyzed. Non-linear characteristics of clearance joint and moving platform were analyzed by Poincare map, phase diagram, and bifurcation diagram. The results show that variation of friction coefficient and clearance value had little effect on stability of the mechanism, but the chaotic phenomenon was found at spherical clearance joint. The research has theoretical guiding significance for improving the dynamic performance and avoiding of chaos of parallel mechanisms including spherical joint clearance.

Design and Strength Analysis of A Spherical Connector for Lifting Subsystem in Deep Sea Mining System

A flexible connector of lifting pipes in a deep sea mining system is designed. The buttress thread （ based on API standard） is used and foreign experience in connector design is referred to. With this kind of connector, the lifting pipe wiU only bear the axial force, free of moment. The strength of the connector is analyzed in detail, including the connecting strength of the buttress thread, the dynamic load of the pipe system, pressures inside and outside of the pipe, the lateral stress of the pipe wall and so on. Especially, a geometric model is built for 3-D contact stress analysis. The distribution graph of contact stress is presented. It is indicated that the strength of the spherical connector meets the demand.

A Novel Engineering Spherical Bearing, with Potential Application for a Hip Implant

It is a research which could enter into contradiction with the current trend concerning the hip implants. It is known as sliding friction, which is characteristic of present artificial hip joints, is higher than in the case of rolling friction. The paper reports the studies of the functioning mode of a novel spherical bearing MoM （metal on metal） with rolling friction, with potential application for an artificial hip joint obtained by introducing a number of balls between the femoral head and the acetabular cup. After over 15 years of research upon the functional principle and constructive solution, a version that offered a coefficient of minimum friction in the hip joint came to light. This version was based on a constructive solution of motion with lower friction, ＂Omnitrack~ movement solutions＂, which has been modified and rebuilt to be used as a joint of a total hip prosthesis--MOMJ. The joint was built entirely in stainless steel, SS316L medical grade. Tests have been carried out on the experimental laboratory devices that showed very low values of the coefficient of friction （μ = 0.0225）. For validation, the prosthesis had to be put through tests for 500,000 cycles, in terms of physiological motion and dynamic loading, according to ISO 14242-3. Testing was conducted on a multiaxial dynamics machine, MTS Bionix, equipped with system for hip implant testing. The testing results of this total hip prosthesis with rolling friction have been successful in signing up for a friction moment of 0.525 kNmm which means a coefficient of friction la = 0.0143, for a joint with femoral head diameter 28 mm.

Development and control of flexible pneumatic wall-climbing robot

A new kind of flexible pneumatic wall-climbing robot,named WALKMAN-I,was proposed. WALKMAN-I is basically composed of a flexible pneumatic actuator (FPA),a flexible pneumatic spherical joint and six suction cups. It has many characteristics of low-cost,lightweight,simple structure and good flexibility. Its operating principle was introduced. Then three basic locomotion modes,which are linear motion,curvilinear motion and crossing the orthogonal planes,were presented. The safety conditions of WALKMAN-I were discussed and built. Finally,the control system was designed and experiments were carried out. Experimental results show that WALKMAN-I is able to climb on the vertical wall surface along a straight line or a curved path,and has the ability of crossing orthogonal planes and obstacles. The maximum rotation angle reaches 90°,the maximum velocity reaches 5 mm/s,and the rotation angle and the moving velocity of WALKMAN-I can be easily controlled.

Numerical Modeling of a Spar Platform Tethered by a Mooring Cable

Virtual simulation is an economical and efficient method in mechanical system design. Numerical modeling of a spar platform, tethered by a mooring cable with a spherical joint is developed for the dynamic simulation of the floating structure in ocean. The geometry modeling of the spar is created using finite element methods. The submerged part of the spar bears the buoyancy, hydrodynamic drag force, and effect of the added mass and Froude-Krylov force. Strip theory is used to sum up the forces acting on the elements. The geometry modeling of the cable is established based on the lumped-mass-and-spring modeling through which the cable is divided into 10 elements. A new element-fixed local frame is used, which is created by the element orientation vector and relative velocity of the fluid, to express the loads acting on the cable. The bottom of the cable is fixed on the seabed by spring forces, while the top of the cable is connected to the bottom of the spar platform by a modified spherical joint. This system suffers the propagating wave and current in the X-direction and the linear wave theory is applied for setting of the propagating wave. Based on the numerical modeling, the displacement-load relationships are analyzed, and the simulation results of the numerical modeling are compared with those by the commercial simulation code, Proteus DS. The comparison indicates that the numerical modeling of the spar platform tethered by a mooring cable is well developed, which provides an instruction for the optimization of a floating structure tethered by a mooring cable system.

The design of a novel parallel haptic device

A novel haptic device which is characterized by large workspace, high rigidity, simple kinematics and easy construction is presented. This device is a parallel mechanism which is composed of a base plate, three sub-chains, and a mobile plate. Each sub-chain is attached to the base plate through a pin joint and to the top plate through a spherical joint. The sub-chain is derived from and kinematically equivalent to a pantograph linkage but is redesigned to solve the difficult problem of motor-fitting. The spherical joint is of the ball-in-socket type, but has much larger workspace than its regular counterpart. The kinematics is analyzed, and the inverse kinematics analysis is performed with a geometric approach. The complete workspace is readily obtained with the spherical coordinate system searching method. The optimal value of the cone angle of the spherical joint is shown to be 100°.