Study on the Structure and Performance of an Antagonistic Pneumatic Bidirectional Rotary Joint

An antagonistic pneumatic bidirectional rotary flexible joint was developed to improve both safety and environmental adaptability of service robots and associated human interactions. The joint comprises two semicircular rotary actuators with positive and negative symmetrical distributions and a pneumatic brake. As such, it achieves forward and reverse rotations, and its damping and braking are adjustable in real time, enabling it to maintain its position. According to the force/torque balance at the free end of the rotary actuator, the rotation angle static model was established. The relationship between the actuator rotation angle, driving torque, impedance torque, and air pressure was obtained experimentally. The brake airbag was manufactured using additive manufacturing and silicone gel casting technologies. The mathematical model of the braking torque was established next, and the model was verified through experiments. Furthermore, an experimental system was constructed to carry out the air pressure-angle, air pressure-torque, and speed response experiments without the load on the joint. The results have shown that the joint can achieve any position within ± 68.5° when the driving air pressure varies from 0 to 0.30 MPa; the time required to reach the maximum angle was 0.85 s. The joint has shown good adjustable damping characteristics. Lastly, the braking torque reached 4.21 Nm at 0.32 MPa, effectively maintaining the position.

Design and experimental evaluation a novel magneto-rheological brake with tooth-shaped rotor

In this study, a novel magnetorheological brake (MRB) with tooth-shape rotor is developed. In this new MRB, traditional cylindrical rotor is replaced by a new one with tooth-shaped rotor. The teeth on the rotor act as multiple magnetic poles of the brake. Two magnetic coils are placed on side-housings of the brake to generate a mutual magnetic field of the MRB. The inner face of each side-housing has tooth shaped features as well. These tooth shaped features interact with the rotor teeth via magnetorheological fluid (MRF) medium. By using the tooth shaped rotor, more interface area between the rotor and the working MRF can be archived, which can improve performance characteristics of the proposed MRB such as compact size, low power consumption and high torque. After an introduction of state of the art of MRB development, the schematics and working principle of the MRB with tooth-shaped rotor is proposed. The modeling of the MRB is then derived based on magnetic finite element analysis (FEA) and Bingham rheological model of MRF. Optimal design of the MRB considering mass and braking torque of the MRB is then conducted. From the optimal design result, it is shown that the mass and power consumption of the proposed MRB are significantly smaller than those of previously developed ones. In details, at high value of the maximum braking torque (100Nm), the proposed MRB mass is only around 31.3% of the mass of the thin-wall single-coil and 42.6% of the mass of the thin-wall double coil MRB. In addition, at small values of the maximum braking torque (5Nm), power consumption of the proposed MRB is only around 33% of that of the thin-wall single-coil and 45.5% of that of the thin-wall double coil MRB. Experimental works on prototypes of the proposed MRB are then performed for validation.

High Torque Density Permanent Magnet Brake

As the braking device of the aircraft electromechanical actuation system, the brake is a vital link in the aircraft attitude change or function adjustment. Among them, the permanent magnet brake has attracted extensive attention in the field of aerospace technology because of its advantages of low energy consumption and high reliability. At present, the domestic permanent magnet brake is heavy and the braking torque density is generally low, which limits its further development in the field of aerospace. In order to improve the braking torque density of permanent magnet brake, this paper proposes a research method of high torque density permanent magnet brake is proposed. By establishing the magnetic circuit structure of the permanent magnet brake, the relationship between the external characteristics of the permanent magnet brake and the design parameters is determined, and then the performance parameters of the permanent magnet brake are simulated and verified by using the finite element simulation software. Finally, through the physical test, the results show that this method can effectively improve the braking torque density.

Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Anti-Lock Braking Control for Electric Vehicles under Complex Road Conditions

To simultaneously track the ideal slip rate and realize ideal energy recovery efficiency under different complex road conditions, an electro-hydraulic compound anti-lock braking system based on interval type-2 fuzzy logic control strategy and its corresponding braking torque allocation strategy have been developed for electric vehicles. The proposed interval type-2 fuzzy logic controller aims to calculate the ideal total braking torque by four steps, namely, fuzzification, fuzzy inference, type reduction, and defuzzification. The slip rate error and the change rate of slip rate error are utilized as inputs in the fuzzification, and then, the membership degree interval of fuzzy variables determined by the upper and lower membership functions is used to calculate the activation degree interval of different fuzzy rules in the fuzzy inference process, which enhances the anti-interference ability to external uncertainties and internal uncertainties. The braking torque allocation strategy is proposed to maintain the maximum energy recovery efficiency on the premise of safe braking. The software of MATLAB/Simulink is applied to simulate the process of anti-lock braking control under two complex road conditions. Simulation results corroborate the proposed interval type-2 fuzzy logic anti-lock braking control system can not only obtain better slip rate control effect and outstanding robustness but also achieve ideal regenerative braking energy recovery efficiency under both joint-μ and split-μ road surfaces.

Parametric Study of Eddy Current Brakes for Small-Scale Household Wind Turbine Systems

The design and application of eddy current brakes (ECBs) should be simple; further, ECBs should be used semi-permanently. This study aimed to determine major parameters for designing an ECB that can be applied to a small-scale wind turbine generator. To this end, an ECB was developed that could actuate without additional power, thus improving the efficiency of the generator. A series of simulations were conducted for a parametric study to pre-design ECBs suitable for small wind turbines. The six parameters chosen were disk thickness, number of magnets, radial location of magnets from center of disk, magnet pole arrangement, magnetic flux density, and rotational speed. The simulations were conducted on COMSOL Multiphysics. The results indicated that the number of magnets and magnet pole arrangements can significantly affect the performance curve of ECBs. Moreover, the disk thickness and rotational speed are linearly proportional to the braking torque.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of the Depth of the Strengthened Layer on Shafts Resulting from Roller Burnishing with Roller Braking Moment

The article presents the results of investigations into the depth of the plastically deformed surface layer in the roller burnishing process. The investigation was carried out in order to obtain information on the dependence relationship between the depth of plastic deformation, the pressure on the roller and the braking torque. The research was carried out according to the original method developed by the authors, in which the depth of plastic deformation is increased by applying a braking torque to the burnishing roller. In this method, it is possible to significantly increase (up to 20%) the depth of plastic deformation of the surface layer. The tests were carried out on a specially designed device on which the braking torque can be set and the force of the rolling resistance of the roller during burnishing can be measured. The tests were carried out on specimens made of C45 heat-treatable carbon steel. The dependence of the depth of the plastically deformed surface layer was determined for a given pressure force and variable braking moments. The depth of the plastically deformed layer was measured on the deformed end face of the ring-shaped samples. The microhardness in the sample cross-section and the evolution of the microstructure were both analysed.

Methodology of thermal loading estimation of the brake mechanism of a truck

The paper presents the results, conclusions of the assessment of friction pairs in the aspect of the phenomenon of fading. As you know, most of the kinetic energy of a car with ABS is extinguished due to the work of friction in the brake mechanism. Overheating the brake mechanism, namely its friction pairs, leads to the appearance of the phenomenon of critical fading, accompanied by a sharp decrease in the braking torque. When the metal friction elements of braking devices operate in a repeated-short-term mode, it is advisable to assess their operating parameters at a steady-state thermal regime, i.e. under the most severe temperature conditions. The proposed technique makes it possible to obtain a high convergence of the calculated values with the experimental data. Evaluation of thermally loaded using this method can be carried out at any stage of the design and does not require large computing power. Visualization of the results allows you to identify areas of increased heating to assess the need to change the design of the brake mechanism.