Bionic lightweight design of limb leg units for hydraulic quadruped robots by additive manufacturing and topology optimization

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.

Methods to Evaluate and Measure Power of Pneumatic System and Their Applications

Pneumatic system has been widely used throughout industry, and it consumes more than billions kW h of electricity one year all over the world. So as to improve the efficiency of pneumatic system, its power evaluation as well as measurement methods should be proposed, and their applicability should be validated. In this paper, firstly, power evaluation and measurement methods of pneumatic system were introduced for the first time. Secondly, based on the proposed methods, power distributions in pneumatic system was analyzed. Thirdly, through the analysis on pneumatic efficiencies of typical compressors and pneumatic components, the applicability of the proposed methods were validated. It can be concluded that, first of all, the proposed methods to evaluation and measurement the power of pneumatic system were efficient. Furthermore, the pneumatic power efficiencies of pneumatic system in the air production and cleaning procedure are respectively about 35%–75% and 85%–90%. Moreover, the pneumatic power efficiencies of pneumatic system in the transmission and consumption procedures are about 70%–85% and 10%–35%. And the total pneumatic power efficiency of pneumatic system is about 2%–20%, which varies largely with the system configuration. This paper provides a method to analyze and measure the power of pneumatic system, lay a foundation for the optimization and energy-saving design of pneumatic system.

Numerical simulation and printability analysis of fused deposition modeling with dual-temperature control

Ideal tissue engineering scaffolds need interconnected pores and high porosity to enable cell survival,migration,proliferation,and differentiation.However,obtaining a high-resolution structure is difficult with traditional one-temperature control fused deposition modeling(FDM).In this study,we propose a dual-temperature control method to improve printability.A numerical model is developed in which the viscosity is a function of temperature and shear rate to study the influence of two different temperature control modes.Quantitative tests are used to assess filament formation and shape fidelity,including one-dimensional filament printing,deposition at corners,fusion,and collapse.By using dual-temperature control,the width of the deposited poly(ε-caprolactone)filament is reduced to 50μm.The comparative results of both the experimental method and numerical simulation suggest that the dual-temperature control FDM can manufacture spatially arranged constructs and presents a promising application in tissue engineering。

Time-series analysis of the characteristic pressure fluctuations in a conical fluidized bed with negative pressure

The negative pressure conical fluidized bed is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry.In this study,experiments based on the negative pressure conical fluidized bed are carried out by changing the material mass and particle size.The pressure fluctuation signals are analyzed by the time and the frequency domain methods.A method for absolutely characterizing the degree of the energy concentration at the main frequency is proposed,where the calculation is to divide the original power spectrum by the average signal power.A phenomenon where the gas velocity curve temporarily stops growing is observed when the material mass is light,and the particle size is small.The standard deviation and kurtosis both rapidly change at the minimum fluidization velocity and thus can be used to determine the flow regime,and the variation rule of the kurtosis is independent of both the material mass and particle size.In the initial fluidization stage,the dominant pressure signal comes from the material movement;with the increase in the gas velocity,the power of a 2.5 Hz signal continues to increase.A method of dividing the main frequency by the average cycle frequency can conveniently determine the fluidized state,and a novel concept called stable fluidized zone proposed in this paper can be obtained.Controlling the gas velocity within the stable fluidized zone ensures that the fluidized bed consistently remains in a stable fluidized state.

Design,Optimization and Numerical Modelling of A Novel Floating Pendulum Wave Energy Converter with Tide Adaptation

A novel floating pendulum wave energy converter(WEC) with the ability of tide adaptation is designed and presented in this paper.Aiming to a high efficiency,the buoy's hydrodynamic shape is optimized by enumeration and comparison.Furthermore,in order to keep the buoy's well-designed leading edge always facing the incoming wave straightly,a novel transmission mechanism is then adopted,which is called the tidal adaptation mechanism in this paper.Time domain numerical models of a floating pendulum WEC with or without tide adaptation mechanism are built to compare their performance on various water levels.When comparing these two WECs in terms of their average output based on the linear passive control strategy,the output power of WEC with the tide adaptation mechanism is much steadier with the change of the water level and always larger than that without the tide adaptation mechanism.

Trends on physical understanding of bioink printability

Recently, 3D bioprinting is developed as an emerging approach, increasingly applied to materials for healthcare;while, the precise placement of cells and materials, and the shape fidelity of forming constructs is of great importance for successful application of 3D bioprinting. Research efforts have been made to develop new bioinks as "raw materials" with better biocompatibility and biofunctionality, but the printability of bioinks is largely ignored and still needs to be carefully examined to enable robotic bioprinting. This article aims to introduce a recent published review (Appl. Phys. Rev. 2018, 5, 041304) on the evaluation of bioink printability by Huang's research group from University of Florida. Huang et al. comprehensively reviewed the bioink printability based on the physical point of view during inkjet printing, laser printing, and microextrusion, and a series of self-consistent time scales and dimensi on less quantities were utilized to physically understand and evaluate bioink printability. This article would be helpful to know the trends on physical understanding of bioink printability.

Physical understanding of axonal growth patterns on grooved substrates:groove ridge crossing versus longitudinal alignment

Surface topographies such as micrometric edges and grooves have been widely used to improve neuron outgrowth.However,finding the mechanism of neuron–surface interactions on grooved substrates remains a challenge.In this work,PC12 cells and chick forebrain neurons(CFNs)were cultured on grooved and smooth polyacrylonitrile substrates.It was found that CFNs showed a tendency of growing across groove ridges;while PC12 cells were only observed to grow in the longitudinal direction of grooves.To further investigate these observations,a 3D physical model of axonal outgrowth was developed.In this model,axon shafts are simulated as elastic 3D beams,accounting for the axon outgrowth as well as the focal contacts between axons and substrates.Moreover,the bending direction of axon tips during groove ridge crossing is governed by the energy minimization principle.Our physical model predicts that axonal groove ridge crossing is contributed by the bending compliance of axons,caused by lower Young’s modulus and smaller diameters.This work will aid the understanding of the mechanisms involved in axonal alignment and elongation of neurons guided by grooved substrates,and the obtained insights can be used to enhance the design of instructive scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering and regeneration applications.

Biofabrication of aligned structures that guide cell orientation and applications in tissue engineering

The organized alignment of cells in various tissues plays a significant role in the maintenance of specific functions.To induce such an alignment,ideal scaffolds should simulate the characteristics and morphologies of natural tissues.Aligned structures that guide cell orientation are used to facilitate tissue regeneration and repair.We here review how various aligned structures are fabricated,including aligned electrospun nanofibers,aligned porous or channeled structures,micropatterns and combinations thereof,and their application in nerve,skeletal muscle,tendon,and tubular dentin regeneration.The future use of aligned structures in tissue engineering is also discussed.

Simulation research on dynamic performance of the new type high-pressure solenoid valve

To improve energy density,the transportation,storage,and operations of hydrogen,methane,and compressed air vehicles currently require high-pressure compression.High-pressure solenoid valve becomes the vital element to above system.In order to reduce leakage and aerodynamic force influence,a new type high-pressure solenoid valve was proposed.The simulation model which included electromagnetic model,aerodynamic force model was established by means of the nonlinear mathematic models.Using the software MATLAB/Simulink for simulation,the dynamic response characteristics of high-pressure pneumatic solenoid valve were obtained under different pulse width modulation(PWM)input control signals.Results show that,first of all,the new type of high-pressure solenoid valve can meet the switch requirement.Secondly,the opening movement and closing movement of the spool lags the PWM rising signal,and the coil current fluctuates significantly during the movement of the spool.Lastly,on/off status of high-pressure valve cannot be represented by the duty cycle.This research can be referred in the design of the high-pressure solenoid valve..

GelNB molecular coating as a biophysical barrier to isolate intestinal irritating metabolites and regulate intestinal microbial homeostasis in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)is a chronic,immune-mediated inflammatory disease characterized by the destruction of the structure and function of the intestinal epithelial barrier.Due to the poor remission effect and severe adverse events associated with current clinical medications,IBD remains an incurable disease.Here,we demonstrated a novel treatment strategy with high safety and effective inflammation remission via tissue-adhesive molecular coating.The molecular coating is composed of o-nitrobenzaldehyde(NB)-modified Gelatin(GelNB),which can strongly bond with-NH_(2)on the intestinal surface of tissue to form a thin biophysical barrier.We found that this molecular coating was able to stay on the surface of the intestine for long periods of time,effectively protecting the damaged intestinal epithelium from irritations of external intestinal metabolites and harmful flora.In addition,our results showed that this coating not only provided a beneficial environment for cell migration and proliferation to promote intestinal repair and regeneration,but also achieved a better outcome of IBD by reducing intestinal inflammation.Moreover,the in vivo experiments showed that the GelNB was better than the classic clinical medication-mesalazine.Therefore,our molecular coating showed potential as a promising strategy for the prevention and treatment of IBD.

A hierarchical vascularized engineered bone inspired by intramembranous ossification for mandibular regeneration

Mandibular defects caused by injuries,tumors,and infections are common and can severely affect mandibular function and the patient's appearance.However,mandible reconstruction with a mandibular bionic structure remains challenging.Inspired by the process of intramembranous ossification in mandibular development,a hierarchical vascularized engineered bone consisting of angiogenesis and osteogenesis modules has been produced.Moreover,the hierarchical vascular network and bone structure generated by these hierarchical vascularized engineered bone modules match the particular anatomical structure of the mandible.The ultra-tough polyion complex has been used as the basic scaffold for hierarchical vascularized engineered bone for ensuring better reconstruction of mandible function.According to the results of in vivo experiments,the bone regenerated using hierarchical vascularized engineered bone is similar to the natural mandibular bone in terms of morphology and genomics.The sonic hedgehog signaling pathway is specifically activated in hierarchical vascularized engineered bone,indicating that the new bone in hierarchical vascularized engineered bone underwent a process of intramembranous ossification identical to that of mandible development.Thus,hierarchical vascularized engineered bone has a high potential for clinical application in mandibular defect reconstruction.Moreover,the concept based on developmental processes and bionic structures provides an effective strategy for tissue regeneration.

A Telepresence-Guaranteed Control Scheme for Teleoperation Applications of Transferring Weight-Unknown Objects

Currently,most teleoperation work is focusing on scenarios where slave robots interact with unknown environments.However,in some fields such as medical robots or rescue robots,the other typical teleoperation application is precise object transportation.Generally,the object’s weight is unknown yet essential for both accurate control of the slave robot and intuitive perception of the human operator.However,due to high cost and limited installation space,it is unreliable to employ a force sensor to directly measure the weight.Therefore,in this paper,a control scheme free of force sensor is proposed for teleoperation robots to transfer a weight-unknown object accurately.In this scheme,the workspace mapping between master and slave robot is firstly established,based on which,the operator can generate command trajectory on-line by operating the master robot.Then,a slave controller is designed to follow the master command closely and estimate the object’s weight rapidly,accurately and robust to unmodeled uncertainties.Finally,for the sake of telepresence,a master controller is designed to generate force feedback to reproduce the estimated weight of the object.In the end,comparative experiments show that the proposed scheme can achieve better control accuracy and telepresence,with accurate force feedback generated in only 500 ms.

Special Issue on Healthcare Mechatronics

Healthcare mechatronics is a typical multidisciplinary field involving machinery,medicine,computer,and automation,which has been widely applied in respiratory therapy,urology robot,rehabilitation exoskeleton,artificial heart,etc.Existing progresses has some defects in modeling,design and implementation of healthcare mechatronics.Therefore,exploring new design theories,key technologies and typical applications is an effective to promote the rapid development of this field.

Experimental and numerical studies on the cavitation over flat hydrofoils with and without obstacle

To control the shedding of cavitation, an obstacle is placed on the surface of a flat hydrofoil. Both experimental and numerical studies are carried out. Images of cavitation evolution are recorded by a high-speed camera. 3-D simulations are performed to investigate the cavitating flows around the hydrofoil. The results show that the re-entrant jet plays an important role during the process of cavitation shedding. A kind of U-type shedding is identified during the evolution of the cloud cavitation. The length of the cavity is apparently reduced due to the placement of the obstacle. It is interesting to find that the cavitation shedding changes from the large-scale mode to a small-scale mode, as an obstacle is placed on the hydrofoil surface. As we can observe from both experimental and numerical results, the small-scale cavitation shedding dominates the cavitating flow dynamics, we thereby conclude that the placement of an obstacle is favorable for the inhibition of cavitation shedding.

Physics problems in bio or bioinspired additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing,also known as three-dimensional(3D)printing,has attracted increasing attention due to the innovations in materials science and manufacturing over recent decades[1].Recently,innovations in biocompatible materials and biology have enabled the extension of 3D printing techniques into bioadditive manufacturing,which focuses on the fabrication of 3D engineered native-like tissues/organs[2].Currently,bioadditive manufacturing technologies can be categorized into inkjet-based bioprinting,microextrusion-based bioprinting,digital light processing(DLP)bioprinting,electric field-assisted bioprinting,and fused deposition modeling(FDM),to name a few[3,4](Fig.1).Artificial tissues and organs with delicate structures,such as the heart[5]and liver[6],have been successfully fabricated using various bioadditive manufacturing techniques.

Theoretical model of pediatric orbital trapdoor fractures and provisional personalized 3D printing-assisted surgical solution

Pediatric orbital trapdoor fractures are common in children and adolescents and usually require emergency surgical intervention.Herein,a personalized 3D printing-assisted approach to surgical treatment is proposed,serving to accurately and effectively repair pediatric orbital trapdoor fractures.We first investigated stress distribution in external force-induced orbital blowout fractures via numerical simulation,determining that maximum stresses on inferior and medial walls exceed those on superior and lateral walls and thus confer higher probability of fracture.We also examined 36 pediatric patients treated for orbital trapdoor fractures between 2014 and 2019 to verify our theoretical construct.Using 3D printing technique,we then created orbital models based on computed tomography(CT)studies of these patients.Absorbable implants were tailor-made,replicating those of 3D-printed models during surgical repairs of fractured orbital bones.As follow-up,we compared CT images and clinical parameters(extraocular movements,diplopia,enophthalmos)before and 12 months after operative procedures.There were only two patients with diplopia and six with enophthalmos>2 mm at 12 months,attesting to the efficacy of our novel 3D printing-assisted strategy.

Robot trajectory planning for autonomous 3D reconstruction of cockpit in aircraft final assembly testing

The trend towards automation and intelligence in aircraft final assembly testing has led to a new demand for autonomous perception of unknown cockpit operation scenes in robotic collaborative airborne system testing.To address this demand,a robotic automated 3D reconstruction cell which enables to autonomously plan the robot end-camera’s trajectory is developed for image acquisition and 3D modeling of the cockpit operation scene.A continuous viewpoint path planning algorithm is proposed that incorporates both 3D reconstruction quality and robot path quality into optimization process.Smoothness metrics for viewpoint position paths and orientation paths are introduced together for the first time in 3D reconstruction.To ensure safe and effective movement,two spatial constraints,Domain of View Admissible Position(DVAP)and Domain of View Admissible Orientation(DVAO),are implemented to account for robot reachability and collision avoidance.By using diffeomorphism mapping,the orientation path is transformed into 3D,consistent with the position path.Both orientation and position paths can be optimized in a unified framework to maximize the gain of reconstruction quality and path smoothness within DVAP and DVAO.The reconstruction cell is capable of automatic data acquisition and fine scene modeling,using the generated robot C-space trajectory.Simulation and physical scene experiments have confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed method to achieve highprecision 3D reconstruction while optimizing robot motion quality.

A new approach for analyzing the effect of non-ideal power supply on a constant current underwater cabled system

The effect of a constant current(CC)power supply on the CC ocean observation system is a problem that once was neglected.The dynamic characteristics of the CC power supply may have great influence on the whole system,especially the voltage behavior in the event of load change.This needs to be examined.In this paper,a method is introduced to check whether the CC power supply can satisfy the dynamic requirements of the CC ocean observation system.An equivalent model to describe the non-ideal CC power supply is presented,through which the dynamic characteristics can be standardized.To verify the feasibility of this model,a minimum system of a single node in the CC ocean observation system is constructed,from which the model is derived.Focusing on the power failure problem,the output voltage responses are performed and the models are validated.Through the model,the dynamic behavior of the CC power supply is checked in a practical design.

Experimental study of an insert and its influence on churning losses in a high-speed electro-hydrostatic actuator pump of an aircraft

The speed of an Electro-Hydrostatic Actuator(EHA) pump can recently reach 20000 r/min, and its churning losses increase obviously with an increasing speed, which results in low efficiency and thus increasing heat in aircraft EHA systems. In order to reduce churning losses at high speeds, more attention should be given to the design of an insert. In this paper, the effect of an insert with different design parameters on churning losses is investigated through Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) simulation and experiments by calculating the difference between churning losses torques of the test pump with and without the insert based on a high-speed churning losses test rig.Analytical results show that the gap between the insert and the cylinder is critical for churning losses reduction. It is found that the churning losses of the test pump can be reduced with a decreasing gap between the cylinder block and the insert at high speeds. This is because the insert can decrease the turbulence occurrence at high speeds. The results can be used for flow field analysis and optimization of the high-speed EHA pump and provide a new method for improving efficiency of high-speed EHA pumps.