TY - JOUR
T1 - Mechanical and geometric advantages in compliant mechanism optimization
AU - Wang, Michael Yu
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements This research work was supported in part by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong SAR (Project Nos. CUHK416507 and CUHK417708). The author would like to thank Dr. Zen Luo for producing the results in Fig. 6.
PY - 2009/9
Y1 - 2009/9
N2 - This paper presents a focused examination of the mechanical and geometric advantages in compliant mechanisms and their ramifications in the design formulations of compliant mechanisms posed as a topology optimization problem. With a linear elastic structural analysis, we quantify mechanical (and geometric) advantage in terms of the stiffness elements of the mechanism's structure. We then analyze the common formulations of compliant mechanism optimization and the role of the external springs added in the formulations. It is shown that the common formulations using mechanical (or geometric) advantage would directly emulate at best a rigid-body linkage to the true optimum design. As a result, the topology optimization generates point flexures in the resulting optimal mechanisms. A case study is investigated to demonstrate the resulting trends in the current formulations.
AB - This paper presents a focused examination of the mechanical and geometric advantages in compliant mechanisms and their ramifications in the design formulations of compliant mechanisms posed as a topology optimization problem. With a linear elastic structural analysis, we quantify mechanical (and geometric) advantage in terms of the stiffness elements of the mechanism's structure. We then analyze the common formulations of compliant mechanism optimization and the role of the external springs added in the formulations. It is shown that the common formulations using mechanical (or geometric) advantage would directly emulate at best a rigid-body linkage to the true optimum design. As a result, the topology optimization generates point flexures in the resulting optimal mechanisms. A case study is investigated to demonstrate the resulting trends in the current formulations.
KW - Compliant mechanisms
KW - Mechanical advantage
KW - Pseudo rigid-body mechanisms
KW - Topology optimization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67650617722&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11465-009-0066-1
DO - 10.1007/s11465-009-0066-1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:67650617722
SN - 1673-3479
VL - 4
SP - 229
EP - 241
JO - Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering in China
JF - Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering in China
IS - 3
ER -