Density-functional-theory predictions of mechanical behaviour and thermal properties as well as experimental hardness of the Ga-bilayer Mo2Ga2C

Mo2Ga2C is a new MAX phase with a stacking Ga-bilayer as well as possible unusual properties. To understand this unique MAX phase structure and promote possible future applications, the structure, chemical bonding, and mechanical and thermodynamic properties of Mo2Ga2C were investigated by first-principles. Using the “bond stiffness” model, the strongest covalent bonding (1162 GPa) was formed between Mo and C atoms in Mo2Ga2C, while the weakest Ga-Ga (389 GPa) bonding was formed between two Ga-atomic layers, different from other typical MAX phases. The ratio of the bond stiffness of the weakest bond to the strongest bond (0.33) was lower than 1/2, indicating the high damage tolerance and fracture toughness of Mo2Ga2C, which was confirmed by indentation without any cracks. The high-temperature heat capacity and thermal expansion of Mo2Ga2C were calculated in the framework of quasi-harmonic approximation from 0 to 1300 K. Because of the metal-like electronic structure, the electronic excitation contribution became more significant with increasing temperature above 300 K.

An obstacle-avoiding and stiffness-tunable modular bionic soft robot

The aim of this work is to design and model a novel modular bionic soft robot for crawling and crossing obstacles. The modular bionic soft robot is composed of several serial driving soft modules, each module is composed of two parallel soft actuators. By analyzing the influence of working pressure and manufacturing size on the stiffness of the modular bionic soft robot, the nonlinear variable stiffness model of the modular bionic soft robot is established. Based on this model, the spatial states and design parameters of the modular bionic soft robot are discussed when the modular bionic soft robot can pass through the obstacle. Experiments show that when the inflation air pressure of the modular bionic soft robot is 70 kPa, its speed can reach 7.89 mm/s and the height of obstacles passed by it can reach 42.8 mm. The feasibility of the proposed modular bionic soft robot and nonlinear variable stiffness model is verified by locomotion experiments.

Simulation of Continuous Tension Stringing Process of Conductor with Bending Stiffness Model

At present, there is no research on the calculation of tension variation of the conductor with bending stiffness model between the continuous span during tension stringing construction. Aiming at the typical terrain with large elevation difference in UHV project, a vector finite element method for calculating the tension of the conductor with bending stiffness model passes through the pulley in the process of tension stringing is proposed. The process of the wire rope under the action of the tractor pulling the conductor passes through the pulley continuously is realized. The variations of tension of tensioner and tractor, reaction force of pulley and envelope angle of the conductor passes through the pulley are obtained by simulation of tension stringing conditions such as 1 pulls 1, 1 pulls 2, etc, which provides reference for equipment selection for the tension stringing construction of mountain terrain with large elevation difference.

Gramian-constrained optimization process for the stiffness model identification of industrial manipulators

This work deals with the elastostatic identification of industrial manipulators. By reviewing the basics of the physical elastic properties of both links and joints in the framework of the lumped stiffness modeling techniques, the Gramian nature of the stiffness matrices has been found out adequate to do so. Then, a novel optimization method has been developed, which incorporates the Gramian matrix formulation along a non-linear optimization process, acting as an intrinsic constraint for the conservativeness of the elastostatic modeling. Numerical and experimental analyses evince the effectiveness of the proposed method, as the elastostatic models obtained by means of the proposed technique predict more than 93.7% of the compliance deviations of a real industrial robot. The proposed method is simple enough to be jointly applicable to the most recent elastostatic model reduction techniques.

Design guidelines for bump-type compliant conical foil bearing

The integral bump foil strip cannot optimize the performance for the compliant conical foil bearing (CFB) as the uneven distribution of structural stiffness. To maximize the bearing characteristics, this paper proposed different bump foil schemes. Firstly, the anisotropy of CFB was studied based on the nonlinear bump stiffness model, and the circumferentially separated foil structure was proposed. Moreover, an axially separated bump foil structure with the variable bump length was introduced to make the axial stiffness distribution more compliant with the gas pressure. In addition, the effect of foil thickness was also discussed. The results show that CFB with integral bump foil exhibits obvious anisotropy, and the suggested installation angle for largest load capacity and best dynamic stability are in the opposite position. Fortunately, a circumferential separated bump foil can improve this defect. The characteristics of CFB with axial separated foil structure can be improved significantly, especially for that with more strips and the variable bump half-length design. The suitable bump and top foil thickness should be set considering the improved supporting performance and proper flexibility. The results can give some guidelines for the design of CFB.

Fatigue Modeling for Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Laminated Composites Considering Voids’ Effect

In this article, experimental tests under static tensile loadings and tension-tension cyclic loadings were conducted for T300/924 unidirectional laminated composites at different porosity levels. On the basis of the experimental tests, a physical-based residual stiffness model for porous CFRP composites was put forward. The present model describes the deterioration of composites under cyclic loading in perspective of the initiation and propagation of cracks in the matrix, and is capable of capturing the effect of voids on fatigue behaviors of the composites. Lastly, the stiffness degradations of laminates with different void contents under various stress levels were predicted, and the predicted stiffness reduction as well as fatigue life of the material agreed well with the experimental data.

Stiffness modelling of flexible support module for Large-aperture laser transmission unit

Large-aperture laser transmission unit (LLTU) is a device that focuses the laser beam to the center of the target, which are often designed as compliant mechanisms to achieve micro displacement adjustment. In the traditional mechanisms, they are designed as integrated micromanipulation systems, and driven by piezoelectric ceramics. However, most of these researches only focuses on motion accuracy, due to the lack of consideration of large load problems, the application is greatly limited. To this end, a flexible support module (FSM), as well as its stiffness model, was presented in this paper. Combined with finite element method (FEM) of FSM, structure size optimization was also completed, successfully solved the problems of stress concentration and load of FSM in engineering application. Moreover, a dual vision-based measurement method was introduced, to verify the stiffness model and analyze the repetitive error of FSM. From this result, the prototype enabled 5 mm and 0.007 rad of working area with average error of 0.3192 mm and -0.0036 rad. The repeatable error is within 7%, and will decreased to 4% with internal stress released in 5~15min.