Topology Optimization of Compliant Mechanisms with Geometrical Nonlinearities Using the Ground Structure Approach

The majority of topology optimization of compliant mechanisms uses linear finite element models to find the structure responses.Because the displacements of compliant mechanisms are intrinsically large,the topological design can not provide quantitatively accurate result.Thus,topological design of these mechanisms considering geometrical nonlinearities is essential.A new methodology for geometrical nonlinear topology optimization of compliant mechanisms under displacement loading is presented.Frame elements are chosen to represent the design domain because they are capable of capturing the bending modes.Geometrically nonlinear structural response is obtained by using the co-rotational total Lagrange finite element formulation,and the equilibrium is solved by using the incremental scheme combined with Newton-Raphson iteration.The multi-objective function is developed by the minimum strain energy and maximum geometric advantage to design the mechanism which meets both stiffness and flexibility requirements, respectively.The adjoint method and the direct differentiation method are applied to obtain the sensitivities of the objective functions. The method of moving asymptotes（MMA） is employed as optimizer.The numerical example is simulated to show that the optimal mechanism based on geometrically nonlinear formulation not only has more flexibility and stiffness than that based on linear formulation,but also has better stress distribution than the one.It is necessary to design compliant mechanisms using geometrically nonlinear topology optimization.Compared with linear formulation,the formulation for geometrically nonlinear topology optimization of compliant mechanisms can give the compliant mechanism that has better mechanical performance.A new method is provided for topological design of large displacement compliant mechanisms.

A New Method of Desired Gait Synthesis for Biped Walking Robot Based on Ground Reaction Force

A new method of desired gait synthesis for biped walking robot based on the ground reaction force was proposed. The relation between the ground reaction force and joint motion is derived using the D’Almbert principle. In view of dynamic walking with high stability, the ZMP(Zero Moment Point)stability criterion must be considered in the desired gait synthesis. After that, the joint trajectories of biped walking robot are decided by substituting the ground reaction force into the aforesaid relation based on the ZMP criterion. The trajectory of desired ZMP is determined by a fuzzy logic based upon the body posture of biped walking robot. The proposed scheme is simulated and experimented on a 10 degree of freedom biped walking robot. The results indicate that the proposed method is feasible.

Experimental investigation on tip vortices and aerodynamics of a wing with ground effect

The tip vortices and aerodynamics of a NACA0012 wing in the vicinity of the ground were studied in a wind tunnel.The wing tip vortex structures and lift/drag forces were measured by a seven-hole probe and a force balance,respectively.The evolution of the flow structures and aerodynamics with a ground height were analyzed.The vorticity of tip vortices was found to reduce with the decreasing of the ground height,and the position of vortex-core moved gradually to the outboard of the wing tip.Therefore,the down-wash flow induced by the tip vortices was weakened. However,vortex breakdown occurred as the wing lowered to the ground.From the experimental results of aerodynamics,the maximum lift-to-drag ratio was observed when the angle of attack was 2.5°and the ground clearance was 0.2.

Reduction in ground reaction force variables with instructed barefoot running

Backgound:Barefoot(BF) running has recently increased in popularity with claims that it is more natural and may result in fewer injuries due to a reduction in impact loading.However,novice BF runners do not necessarily immediately switch to a forefoot strike pattern.This may increase mechanical parameters such as loading rate,which has heen associated with certain running-related injuries,specifically,tibial stress fractures.patellofemoral pain,and plantar iasciitis.The purpose of this study was to examine changes in loading parameters between typical shod running and instructed BF running with real-time force feedback.Methods:Forty-nine patients seeking treatment for a lower extremity injury ran on a force-sensing treadmill in their typical shod condition and then BF at the same speed.While BF they received verbal instruction and real-time feedback of vertical ground reaction forces.Results:While 92%of subjects(n = 45) demonstrated a rearfoot strike pattern when shod,only 2%(n = 1) did during the instructed BF run.Additionally,while BF 47%(n = 23) eliminated the vertical impact transient in all eight steps analyzed.All loading variables of interest were significantly reduced from the shod to instructed BF condition.These included maximum instantaneous and average vertical loading rates of the ground reaction force(p 【 0.0001),stiffness during initial loading(p 【 0.0001).and peak medial(p = 0.001) and lateral(p 【 0.0001) ground reaction forces and impulses in the vertical(p 【 0.0001).medial(p = 0.047),and lateral(p 【 0.0001) directions.Conclusion:As impact loading has been associated with certain running-related injuries,instruction and feedback on the proper forefoot strike pattern may help reduce the injury risk associated with transitioning to BF running.

Ground substrates classification and adaptive walking through interaction dynamics for legged robots

Adaptive locomotion in different types of surfaces is of critical importance for legged robots.The knowledge of various ground substrates,especially some geological properties,plays an essential role in ensuring the legged robots'safety.In this paper,the interaction between the robots and the environments is investigated through interaction dynamics with the closed-loop system model,the compliant contact model,and the friction model,which unveil the influence of environment's geological characteristics for legged robots'locomotion.The proposed method to classify substrates is based on the interaction dynamics and the sensory-motor coordination.The foot contact forces,joint position errors,and joint motor currents,which reflect body dynamics,are measured as the sensing variables.We train and classify the features extracted from the raw data with a multilevel weighted k-Nearest Neighbor(kNN) algorithm.According to the interaction dynamics,the strategy of adaptive walking is developed by adjusting the touchdown angles and foot trajectories while lifting up and dropping down the foot.Experiments are conducted on five different substrates with quadruped robot FROG-I.The comparison with other classification methods and adaptive walking between different substrates demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

Experimental study on the dynamic modulus of compacted loess under bidirectional dynamic load

The dynamic characteristics of compacted loess are of great significance to the seismic construction of the Loess Plateau area in Northwest China,where earthquakes frequently occur.To study the change in the dynamic modulus of the foundation soil under the combined action of vertical and horizontal earthquakes,a hollow cy-lindrical torsion shear instrument capable of vibrating in four directions was used to perform two-way coupling of compression and torsion of Xi'an compacted loess under different dry density and deviator stress ratios.The results show that increasing the dry density can improve the initial dynamic compression modulus and initial dynamic shear modulus of compacted loess.With an increase in the deviator stress ratio,the initial dynamic compression modulus increases,to a certain extent,but the initial dynamic shear modulus decreases slightly.The dynamic modulus gradually decreases with the development of dynamic strain and tends to be stable,and the dynamic modulus that reaches the same strain increases with an increasing dry density.At the initial stage of dynamic loading,the attenuation of the dynamic shear modulus with the strain development is faster than that of the dynamic compression modulus.Compared with previous research results,it is determined that the dynamic modulus of loess under bidirectional dynamic loading is lower and the attenuation rate is faster than that under single-direction dynamic loading.The deviator stress ratio has a more obvious effect on the dynamic compression modulus.The increase in the deviator stress ratio can increase the dynamic compression modulus,to a certain extent.However,the deviator stress ratio has almost no effect on the dynamic shear modulus,and can therefore be ignored.

Walking Stability Control Method for Biped Robot on Uneven Ground Based on Deep Q-Network

A gait control method for a biped robot based on the deep Q-network (DQN) algorithm is proposed to enhance the stability of walking on uneven ground. This control strategy is an intelligent learning method of posture adjustment. A robot is taken as an agent and trained to walk steadily on an uneven surface with obstacles, using a simple reward function based on forward progress. The reward-punishment (RP) mechanism of the DQN algorithm is established after obtaining the offline gait which was generated in advance foot trajectory planning. Instead of implementing a complex dynamic model, the proposed method enables the biped robot to learn to adjust its posture on the uneven ground and ensures walking stability. The performance and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm was validated in the V-REP simulation environment. The results demonstrate that the biped robot's lateral tile angle is less than 3° after implementing the proposed method and the walking stability is obviously improved.

An investigation on the ground motion parameters and seismic response of underground structures

Peak ground acceleration (PGA), frequency content and time duration are three fundamental parameters of seismic loading. This study focuses on the seismic load frequency and its effect on the underground structures. Eight accelerograms regarding different occurred earthquakes that are scaled to an identical PGA and variation of ground motion parameters with ratio of peak ground velocity (PGV) to PGA, as a parameter related to the load frequency, are considered. Then, concrete lining response of a circular tunnel under various seismic conditions is evaluated analytically. In the next, seismic response of underground structure is assessed numerically using two different time histories. Finally, effects of incident load frequency and frequency ratio on the dynamic damping of geotechnical materials are discussed. Result of analyses show that specific energy of seismic loading with identical PGA is related to the seismic load frequency. Furthermore, incident load frequency and natural frequency of a system have influence on the wave attenuation and dynamic damping of the system.

A Guide to the Influence of Ground Reaction on Ship Stability

Grounded ship faces up exceptionally different stability forces unlike in her normal operating condition. This critical situation must be corrected as soon as can minimize hull stress, the risk of pollution and stability failure. Re-floating the ship need full understanding of the impact of ground reaction （R） on the ship buoyancy and stability. Re-floating the ship has different phases and there are several immediate actions that should be taken by ship＇s crew; one of these phases is re-calculation of ship stability conditions. In this paper, a guide to understanding the effect of the ground reaction （R）, determines the amount of ground pressure and its location. With consideration of the seabed form whether symmetric of asymmetric. Calculating the magnitude of the ground reaction （R） using different applicable methods, explaining the effect of using weight to re-float the ship by her own means, focusing on GM calculation after grounding.

Discussion on bearing capacity of soft rock ground based on in-situ load test

The suitability of five methods was discussed here,taking the typical results from in-situ load test of Renshou Mansion and Caifu Plaza in Yueyang City for example.It shows that bearing capacity can be obtained by the proportion load and limit load from p-s curve with the first and the second point of contraflexure easily.It is recommended that the accurate value of bearing capacity can be obtained by hyperbola fitting method and minimum curvature radius method theoretically.The rebound method is clear in principle,in which the elastoplasticity characteristic is thought about.Out of consideration for the unsteadiness and unobviousness of bearing capacity from relative settlement method,it can be only adopted as reference.So bearing capacity of soft rock ground should be determined by weathering condition of soft rock and curve type.

Plate Load Tests on Municipal Solid Waste Dump Site to Assess Ground Improvement Alternatives

Urbanization is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. As the land cost is increasing tremendously and decreasing availability of good construction site is building up pressure on the engineers to utilize even the poorest site either by providing special type of foundation or by improving ground in urban centres. In this context literature is reviewed for use of landfill site for housing. The site exploration for old dump site was carried out to assess subsoil characteristics. The objective was to evolve strategy for economical feasible ground improvement technique to obtain permissible bearing capacity of 150 kPa and total settlement not more than 50 mm. The tests carried out are load tests with geotextile mat and stone filled wire mess matress. The analysis was attempted to evaluate the soil response and bearing capacity. The site can be used for construction of low rise housing for rehabilitation of displaced persons under TP scheme within city area utilizing old landfill sites.

Influence of cement-fly ash-gravel pile-supported approach embankment on abutment piles in soft ground

Abutment piles in soft ground may be subjected to both vertical and horizontal soil movements resulting from approach embankment loads. To constrain the soil movements, the soft soil ground beneath the approach embankment is often improved using composite pile foundations, which aim at mitigating the bump induced by high-speed trains passing through the bridge. So far, there is limited literature on exploring the influence of the degree of ground improvement on abutment piles installed in soft soil grounds. In this paper, a series of three-dimensional （3D） centrifuge model tests was performed on an approach embankment over a silty clay deposit improved by cement-fly ash-gravel （CFG） piles combined with geogrid. Emphasis is placed on the effects of ground replacement ratio （m） on the responses of the abutment piles induced by embankment loads. Meanwhile, a numerical study was conducted with varying ground replacement ratio of the pile-reinforced grounds. Results show that the performance of the abutment piles is significantly improved when reinforcing the ground with CFG piles beneath the approach embankment. Interestingly, there is a threshold value of the replacement ratio of around 4.9% above which the effect of CFG pile foundations is limited. This implies that it is essential to optimize the ground improvement for having a cost-effective design while minimizing the risk of the bump at the end of bridge.

Fuel characteristics, loads and consumption in Scots pine forests of central Siberia

Forest fuel investigations in central and southern Siberian taiga of Scots pine forest stands dominated by lichen and feather moss ground vegetation cover revealed that total aboveground biomass varied from 13.1 to 21.0 kg/m 2.Stand biomass was higher in plots in the southern taiga,while ground fuel loads were higher in the central taiga.We developed equations for fuel biomass(both aerial and ground)that could be applicable to similar pine forest sites of Central Siberia.Fuel loading variability found among plots is related to the impact and recovery time since the last wildfi re and the mosaic distribution of living vegetation.Fuel consumption due to surface fi res of low to high-intensities ranged from 0.95 to 3.08 kg/m 2,that is,18–74%from prefi re values.The total amount of fuels available to burn in case of fi re was up to 4.5–6.5 kg/m 2.Moisture content of fuels(litter,lichen,feather moss)was related to weather conditions characterized by the Russian Fire Danger Index(PV-1)and FWI code of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System.The data obtained provide a strong foundation for understanding and modeling fi re behavior,emissions,and fi re eff ects on ecosystem processes and carbon stocks and could be used to improve existing global and regional models that incorporate biomass and fuel characteristics.

Tests on Alkali-Activated Slag Foamed Concrete with Various Water-Binder Ratios and Substitution Levels of Fly Ash

To provide basic data for the reasonable mixing design of the alkali-activated (AA) foamed concrete as a thermal insulation material for a floor heating system, 9 concrete mixes with a targeted dry density less than 400 kg/m3 were tested. Ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) as a source material was activated by the following two types of alkali activators: 10% Ca(OH)2 and 4% Mg(NO3)2, and 2.5% Ca(OH)2 and 6.5% Na2SiO3. The main test parameters were water-to-binder (W/B) ratio and the substitution level (RFA) of fly ash (FA) for GGBS. Test results revealed that the dry density of AA GGBS foamed concrete was independent of the W/B ratio an RFA, whereas the compressive strength increased with the decrease in W/B ratio and with the increase in RFA up to 15%, beyond which it decreased. With the increase in the W/B ratio, the amount of macro capillaries and artificial air pores increased, which resulted in the decrease of compressive strength. The magnitude of the environmental loads of the AA GGBS foamed concrete is independent of the W/B ratio and RFA. The largest reduction percentage was found in the photochemical oxidation potential, being more than 99%. The reduction percentage was 87% - 93% for the global warming potential, 81% - 84% for abiotic depletion, 79% - 84% for acidification potential, 77% - 85% for eutrophication potential, and 73% - 83% for human toxicity potential. Ultimately, this study proved that the developed AA GGBS foamed concrete has a considerable promise as a sustainable construction material for nonstructural element.

Analysis of Design Directions for Ground Control Station (GCS)

This study is a preparation phase for integrated visualization of battlefield situation. To develop the ground control station for unmanned systems, many factors have to be considered from the design stages, such as layout, information component, representation scheme, and human operation methods. Considering such many factors can be very difficult, hence we conducted an in-depth investigation of design factors from major UAV stations around the world. We analyzed the design characteristics and the specifics. In conclusion, we were able to derive some common aspects of design characteristics, which lead to the successful design approach.

Analysis of Interface and Screen for Ground Control System

This study is a preparation phase for visualization of utilized information using ergonomic user interface and standardization of elements for GCS (Ground Control System). Therefore, we investigated the instances of GCS (such as hawk and patriot missile’s GCS) for defense system. Based on the collected data, we compared and analyzed the GCS screen design. In this paper, we conduct case study for ergonomically development of GCS. It is expected that this research improves the situational awareness and reduces the user’s task load.

Ground stability of new surface buildings erected on site above worked-out area

The subsided area caused by mining is expanding gradually in coal mining areas. In order to occupy less or no farmland, many mining areas are constructing or intend to erect new buildings (structures) on the ground sites above the worked-out areas. The long-term safety of the new buildings is of great importance. This matter should be, therefore, handled with great care. Following an analysis of the different conditions of the worked-out areas, and the characteristics of the failure of different types of worked-out areas and their overlying strata, the cause for the occurrence of residual deformation of the surface above the worked-out area was explained. The techniques for (evaluating) the stability of ground site for erecting new buildings above worked-out area, and the technical measures for protecting such buildings were proposed. The ground stability evaluation techniques were introduced by reference to specific cases.

Oxygen uptake, heart rate, and work rate at ventilatory threshold for treadmill walking against a horizontal impeding force

The purpose of this study was to compare the ventilatory threshold (VT) between treadmill walking against a horizontal impeding force (horizontal load walking) and a cycle ergometer exercise. Seven adult men volunteered to participate in this study. They performed horizontal load walking (velocity: 1.11 m/s) and a cycle ergometer exercise (pedaling frequency: 60 rpm), with loads imposed using a ramp slope technique. Oxygen uptake at the VT during horizontal load walking was greater than that during a cycle ergometer exercise

One hundred marathons in 100 days:Unique biomechanical signature and the evolution of force characteristics and bone density

Background:An extraordinary long-term running performance may benefit from low dynamic loads and a high load-bearing tolerance.An extraordinary runner(age=55 years,height=1.81 m,mass=92 kg) scheduled a marathon a day for 100 consecutive days.His running biomechanics and bone density were investigated to better understand successful long-term running in the master athlete.Methods:Overground running gait analysis and bone densitometry were conducted before the marathon-a-day challenge and near its completion.The case’s running biomechanics were compared pre-challenge to 31 runners who were matched by a similar foot strike pattern.Results:The case’s peak vertical loading rate(Δx=-61.9 body weight(BW)/s or-57%),peak vertical ground reaction force(Δx=-0.38 BW or-15%),and peak braking force(Δx=-0.118 BW or-31%) were remarkably lower(p<0.05) than the control group at~3.3 m/s.The relatively low loading-related magnitudes were attributed to a remarkably high duty factor(0.41) at the evaluated speed.The foot strike angle of the marathoner(29.5°) was greater than that of the control group,affecting the peak vertical loading rate.Muscle powers in the lower extremity were also remarkably low in the case vs.controls:peak power of knee absorption(Δx=-9.16 watt/kg or-48%) and ankle generation(Δx=-3.17 watt/kg or-30%).The bone mineral density increased to 1.245 g/cm;(+2.98%) near completion of the challenge,whereas the force characteristics showed no statistically significant change.Conclusion:The remarkable pattern of the high-mileage runner may be useful in developing or evaluating load-shifting strategies in distance running.

Loaded antenna in half lossy space base on HDGA

Antenna loads can modify the current distribution on the wires, thus improving antenna characteristics in the process. However, it is difficult to calculate appropriate loads of antenna near the ground because in half lossy space there are inherent situational complexities. This paper optimizes loads of antenna near the ground base using a half-determlned genetic algorithm. The numerical results show the HDGA has a quicker convergent speed and a better convergent value than the SGA.