Discrete element method investigation of the milling characteristic in a rice mill

A milling chamber consisting of a rice sieve and a rotating roller plays critical roles in modulating the milling performance of rice grains. However, the mechanism of how the geometries of the rice sieve and rotating roller affect the particle collisions and the interaction time remains not fully understood. Our experimental results show that the milling degree and rate of broken rice of the octagonal rice sieve are largest among the hexagonal sieve, octagonal sieve, and circular sieve. Through the discrete element method, we illustrate that the peak milling degree at the octagonal sieve is attributed to the competition between the decreasing force and increasing milling time with the increase in edges. In addition, the geometries of the convex ribs of the rotating roller are investigated to optimize the structure of the milling chamber. In the left-hand spiral or right-hand spiral of the convex ribs, the rice particles are accumulated in the inlet or outlet regions, respectively, which leads to an uneven milling degree in the axial direction. The uniformity of a milling process can be promoted by increasing the number of convex ribs, which will reduce the milling degree on the other hand.

Bionic design and analysis of a multi-posture wheelchair

Posture transformation is an essential function for multi-posture wheelchairs. To improve the natural motion in posture transformation that is a popular problem in the design of multi-posture wheelchairs because the current wheelchair's posture transformation mechanism cannot remain consistent between the rotation center of the wheelchair and the rotation center of the human body joints. This paper proposes a sitting–standing–lying three-posture bionic transformation mechanism for a smart wheelchair. A human–wheelchair coupling model is described and analyzed according to the biomechanical characteristics of the posture transformation of human beings and their functional requirements. The configuration of the transformation mechanism is chosen by comparing the trails of the wheelchair rotation centers and the corresponding human joint rotation centers. The kinematics of the optimized configuration are discussed in detail to obtain the most bionic motion performance using the multivariable nonlinear constraint optimization algorithm. Finally, the mechanism is designed, and its posture transformation performance is simulated and verified using Adams (Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems) software.

Design and analysis of a six-wheeled companion robot with mechanical obstacle-overcoming adaptivity

A six-wheeled companion exploration robot with an adaptive climbing mechanism is proposed and released for the complicated terrain environment of planetary exploration. Benefiting from its three-rocker-arm structure, the robot can adapt to complex terrain with its six wheels in contact with the ground during locomotion, which improves the stability of the robot. When the robot moves on the flat ground, it moves forward through the rotation of the wheels. When it encounters obstacles in the process of moving forward, the front obstacle-crossing wheels hold the obstacle, and the rocker arms on both sides rotate themselves with mechanical adaptivity to drive the robot to climb and cross the obstacle like crab legs. Furthermore, a parameterized geometric model is established to analyze the motion stability and the obstacle-crossing performance of the robot. To investigate the feasibility and correctness of design theory and robot scheme, a group of design parameters of the robot are determined. A prototype of the robot is developed, and the experiment results show that the robot can maintain stability in rugged terrain environments and has a certain ability to surmount obstacles.

Precise mathematical model for the ratchet tooth root bending stress

A ratchet is an essential component of the ratchet pawl mechanism. But the traditional ratchet strength check method has certain limitations in the design process. In this paper, the stress analysis of the ratchet is discussed and a precision mathematical model for the ratchet tooth root bending stress is proposed for the first time. This model was established by the folded section and defined by the incision effect theory. To test the prediction ability of the proposed mathematical model, the maximum stress of three standard ratchets and one non-standard ratchet were analyzed by the FEA (finite element analysis) method. The non-standard ratchet was adapted in the ratchet experiment to analyze its maximum stress. The analysis results presented in this paper show that the proposed mathematical model has a good predictability, regardless of whether it is a standard or non-standard ratchet. It is recommended that this model can be used to predict the ratchet tooth root bending stress in the ratchet design process.

Establishment and analysis of nonlinear frequency response model of planetary gear transmission system

Based on the lumped parameter theory, a nonlinear bending torsion coupling dynamic model of planetary gear transmission system was established by considering the backlash, support clearance, time-varying meshing stiffness, meshing damping, transmission error and external periodic excitation. The model was solved by the Runge–Kutta method, the dynamic response was analyzed by a time domain diagram and phase diagram, and the nonlinear vibration characteristics were studied by the response curve of the speed vibration displacement. The vibration test of the planetary gearbox was carried out to verify the correctness of frequency domain response characteristics. The results show that the vibration response in the planetary gear system changes from a multiple periodic response to a single periodic response with the increase in input speed. Under the action of the backlash, time-varying meshing stiffness and meshing damping, the speed vibration displacement response curves of internal and external meshing pairs appear to form a nonlinear jump phenomenon and have a unilateral impact area, and the system presents nonlinear characteristics. The nonlinear vibration of the system can be effectively suppressed by decreasing the mesh stiffness or increasing the mesh resistance, while the vibration response displacement of the system increases by increasing the external exciting force, and the nonlinear characteristics of the system remain basically unchanged. The backlash is the main factor affecting the nonlinear frequency response of the system, but it can restrain the resonance of the system in a certain range. The spectrum characteristics of the vibration displacement signal of the planetary gearbox at different speeds are similar to the simulation results, which proves the validity of the simulation analysis model and the simulation results. It can provide a theoretical basis for the system vibration and noise reduction and a dynamic structural stability design optimization.

Horizontal vibration response analysis of ultra-high-speed elevators by considering the effect of wind load on buildings

At present, the wind-induced vibration effects of super-high-rise buildings caused by wind loads can no longer be ignored. The wind-induced vibration effect of super-high-rise buildings will inevitably cause the vibration of ultra-high-speed elevators. However, for the study of the vibration characteristics of ultra-high-speed elevators, the wind-induced vibration effect of the ultra-high-speed elevator is often ignored. Based on Bernoulli–Euler theory, the forced vibration differential equation of elevator guide rail was established, and the vibration equation of elevator guide shoe and car was established by using the Darren Bell principle. The coupled vibration model of the guide rail, guide shoes, and car can be obtained through the relationship of force and relative displacement among these components. Based on the model, the effects of wind pressure and building height on the horizontal vibration of the ultra-high-speed guideway and passenger comfort were analyzed. The results showed that the influence of the wind load on the vibration of ultra-high-speed elevator can no longer be disregarded, and the maximum horizontal vibration acceleration of the guide rail is positively correlated with the height of building. The vibration acceleration of the same height rail increases with the increase in wind pressure. The vibration dose values (VDVs) increase with the increase in wind pressure and building height, respectively.

Swing control for a three-link brachiation robot based on sliding-mode control on irregularly distributed bars

The bionic-gibbon robot is a popular bionic robot. The bionic-gibbon robot can imitate a gibbon in completing brachiation motion between branches. With nonlinear and underactuated properties, the robot has important research value. This paper designs a type of bionic-gibbon robot with three links and two grippers. To simplify the controller, a plane control model is proposed, and its dynamic model is established. The control strategy in this paper divides the brachiation motion into several processes: adjust posture, open the gripper, the swing process and close the gripper. Based on sliding-mode control (SMC), the control method for the swing process is designed. The target position of the brachiation motion is set as the origin of the sliding-mode surface. In a finite time, the robot will reach the target position along the approach rate we adopt. In this way, the robot can complete the desired brachiation motion only by setting the position parameters of the target bar. We perform some simulations in ROS-Gazebo. The simulation results show that the bionic-gibbon robot can complete continuous brachiation motion on irregularly distributed bars. The sliding-mode control and the three-link structure significantly improve the robustness and swing efficiency of the bionic-gibbon robot.

Structural synthesis of plane kinematic chain inversions without detecting isomorphism

A plane kinematic chain inversion refers to a plane kinematic chain with one link fixed (assigned as the ground link). In the creative design of mechanisms, it is important to select proper ground links. The structural synthesis of plane kinematic chain inversions is helpful for improving the efficiency of mechanism design. However, the existing structural synthesis methods involve isomorphism detection, which is cumbersome. This paper proposes a simple and efficient structural synthesis method for plane kinematic chain inversions without detecting isomorphism. The fifth power of the adjacency matrix is applied to recognize similar vertices, and non-isomorphic kinematic chain inversions are directly derived according to non-similar vertices. This method is used to automatically synthesize 6-link 1-degree-of-freedom (DOF), 8-link 1-DOF, 8-link 3-DOF, 9-link 2-DOF, 9-link 4-DOF, 10-link 1-DOF, 10-link 3-DOF and 10-link 5-DOF plane kinematic chain inversions. All the synthesis results are consistent with those reported in literature. Our method is also suitable for other kinds of kinematic chains.

Force analysis of minimal self-adaptive fingers using variations of four-bar linkages

This paper presents the design and optimization of four versions of self-adaptive, a.k.a. underactuated, fingers based on four-bar linkages. These fingers are designed to be attached to and used with the same standard translational grippers as one finds in the manufacturing and packaging industries. This paper aims at showing self-adaptive fingers as simply as possible and analysing the resulting trade-off between complexity and performance. To achieve this objective, the simplest closed-loop 1 degree-of-freedom (DOF) linkage, namely the four-bar linkage, is used to build these fingers. However, it should be pointed out that if this work does consider a single four-bar linkage as the basic building block of the fingers, four variations of this four-bar linkage are actually discussed, including some with a prismatic joint. The ultimate purpose of this work is to evaluate whether the simplest linkages for adaptive fingers can produce the same level of performance in terms of grasp forces as more complex designs. To this end, a kinetostatic analysis of the four fingers is first presented. Then, the fingers are all numerically optimized considering various force-based metrics, and results are presented. Finally, these results are analysed and prototypes shown.

Analysis and compensation control of passive rotation on a 6-DOF electrically driven Stewart platform

With the development of motor control technology, the electrically driven Stewart platform (EDSP), equipped with a ball screw or lead screw, is being widely used as a motion simulator, end effector, and vibration isolator. The motor drives the lead screw on each driven branch chain to realize 6-DOF motion of the moving platform. The control loop of the EDSP adopts the rotor position as a feedback signal from the encoder or resolver on the motor. When the moving platform of the EDSP performs translational or rotational motion, the lead screw on each driven branch chain passively generates a relative rotation between its screw and nut in addition to its original sliding motion. This type of passive rotation (PR) of the lead screw does not disturb the motor; hence, it cannot be detected by the position sensor attached to the corresponding motor. Thus, the driven branch chains cause unexpected length changes because of PR. As a result, the PR generates posture errors on the moving platform during operation. In our research, the PR on the EDSP was modeled and analyzed according to the geometry configuration of EDSP. Then, a control method to compensate for the posture errors caused by the PR was proposed. Finally, the effectiveness of the analysis process and compensation control method were validated; the improvement in pose accuracy was confirmed both by simulation and experiments.