A DOE- and Kriging-Based Model for Studying on the Dynamics of Multibody Mechanical Systems With Revolute Joint Clearance

Over the last two decades, extensive work has been conducted on dynamic effect of joint clearances in multibody mechanical systems. In contrast, little work has been devoted to optimizing the performance of these systems. In this study, analysis of revolute joint clearance is formulated in term of a Hertzian-based contact force model. For illustration, the classical slider-crank mechanism with a revolute clearance joint at the piston pin is presented, and a simulation model is developed using the analysis/design code MSC.ADAMS. The clearance is modeled as a pin-in-a-hole surface-to-surface dry contact, with appropriate contact force model between the joint and bearing surfaces. Different simulations are performed to demonstrate the influence of the joint clearance size and the input crank speed on the dynamic behavior of the system with the clearance joint. An innovative design-of-experiment (DOE)-based method for optimizing the performance of a mechanical system with the revolute joint clearance for different ranges of design parameters is then proposed. Based on the simulation model results from sample points, which are selected by a Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) method, a polynomial function Kriging meta-model is established instead of the actual simulation model. The reason for development and use of the meta-model is to bypass computationally intensive simulations of a computer model for different design parameter values in place of a more efficient and cost-effective mathematical model. Finally, numerical results obtained from two application examples, considering the different design parameters, including the joint clearance size, crank speed, and contact stiffness, are presented for further analyzing the dynamics of the revolute clearance joint in a mechanical system. This allows for predicting the influence of design parameter changes, in order to minimize contact forces, accelerations, and power requirements due to the existence of joint clearance.

Actuator Array Dynamics Incorporating Actuator Inertia

Actuator arrays are planar distributed manipulation systems that use multiple two degree-of-freedom actuators to manipulate objects with three degrees of freedom (x, y, and θ). Prior work has discussed actuator array dynamics while neglecting the inertia of the actuators; this paper extends prior work to the case of non-negligible actuator inertia. The dynamics are presented using a standard friction model incorporating stiction. Simulation results are presented that show object motion under previously derived control laws.

Shape Optimization of Engine Mounts for Enhanced Vibration Isolation

In this article, a parametric approach is used to determine the optimum geometric shape of an engine mount in order to minimize the vibrations transmitted to and from the engine. The engine mount used is an elastomeric mount which is made of rubber. For proper vibration isolation, elastomeric mounts are designed such that they have the necessary elastic stiffness rate characteristics in all directions. An optimization problem is first solved to determine the optimum values of stiffness, orientation and location of the mount system such that vibrations transmitted are minimal. Besides determining the optimum mount stiffness values, knowing the optimum shape of the rubber mount is also vital. The shape of the mount is determined such that it meets the required stiffness of the mounting system obtained from the dynamic analysis. A nonlinear finite element analysis is used to determine the final optimum shape and stiffness of the mount.

Tire-Terrain Normal and Longitudinal Dynamics and Slip Power Losses of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle

Studies of the tire-terrain interaction have mostly been completed on vehicles with steered wheels, but not much work has been done regarding skid-steered Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV). This paper introduces a mathematical model of normal and longitudinal dynamics of a UGV with four skid-steered pneumatic tire wheels. Unlike the common approach, in which two wheels at each side are treated as one wheel (i.e., having the same rotational speeds), all four wheels in this study are independently driven. Thus the interaction of each tire with deformable terrain is introduced as holonomic constraints. The stress-strain characteristics for tire-soil interaction are analyzed based on modern Terramechanics methods and then further used to determine the circumferential wheel forces of the four tires. Contributions of three components of each tire circumferential force to tire slippages are modeled and analyzed when the tire normal loads vary during vehicle straight-line motion. The considered tire-soil characteristics are mathematically reduced to a form that allows condensing the computational time for on-line computing tire-terrain characteristics. Additionally, rolling resistance of the tires is analyzed and incorporated in the UGV dynamic equations. Moreover, the paper describes the physics of slip power losses in the tire-soil interaction of the four tires and applies it to small skid-steered UGV. This study also formulates an optimization problem of the minimization of the power losses in the tire-soil interactions due to the tire slippage.

Control of Drilling and Coring Device Based on Online Identification

This paper presents a drilling and coring device for the lunar exploration, which is possibly utilized to acquire the lunar regolith with a certain depth. The drilling device is composed of three components: rotary unit, percussive unit and penetrating unit. The rotary-percussion drill can work in two different operating modes: rotary mode and rotary-percussive mode, depending on the properties of cut object. In the relatively loose regolith, rotation and penetration can make the drill work in a well state. However, once rock is encountered in the drilling process, besides rotation and penetration, percussion must be launched to reduce the drilling power and the required penetrating force. Due to the indetermination of the lunar environment, it is not easy to control the coring drill to adapt to the encountered conditions. To obtain a high coring ratio with relatively low power, an intelligent drilling strategy is inevitably proposed to accomplish the drilling process control. Considering the lunar soil simulant should cover the possible composition of real lunar soil, simulant are classified into several levels based on the generalized drillability. For each level of drillability of lunar soil simulant, experiments are conducted to get the characteristics in frequency-domain of rotary torque output. The sampled characteristics of rotary torque output are utilized to train the object-recognition system based on Support Vector Machine (SVM). Information in all the levels of drillability of lunar soil simulant is stored in the object-recognition system as an expert system. To understand the properties of the drilling object, rotary torque is selected to identify the level of drillability of simulant in drilling process. Subsequently, once the level is obtained, drilling strategy is adjusted to adapt to the current level correspondingly in real time. Experiments are conducted to verify the intelligent drilling strategy successfully.

Optimization for Slip Analysis of Belt Drives With Finite Element Verification

This paper presents optimized nonlinear analytical procedure for the slipping and sticking motion of extensible belt pulley systems. The procedure initially assumes a general spline representing the changes in the internal moment along the slipping zones. This assumption enables one to get the shear force values along the belt length. Also this assumption enabled us to discover an entrance slipping zone of the belt pulley contact with all variables changing along this zone. The contact between the belt and the pulley has thus three stages that lead to more realistic prediction of the belt system variables and more accurate values for the angles in the belt pulley sliding zones. The change in the angular velocity of the driven pulley with respect to the driving pulley, the change in the cross section dimensions, and the belt stretch are predicted. The analytical model gives highly nonlinear equations which are solved by numerical optimization procedure and validated by the solution obtained using absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF) finite element method. The results obtained demonstrate that the present formulation leads to more accurate prediction for the belt tension, friction and normal forces. This paper presents the analytical results of several models which are presented and would enable better prediction for the critical loads for several cases.

Receding Horizon Real-Time Energy Management Strategy for Hybrid Vehicles

Indirect optimal control and dynamic programming are combined in a receding horizon controller to obtain an energy management strategy for hybrid vehicles. This combination permits the use of inaccurate predictions of the future, instead of requiring exact knowledge, and allows the use of mixed state-control constraints, like voltage constraints for batteries. The controller can run in real-time on commodity hardware and, using a prediction of the future based on geographic information only, obtains a fuel use within 0.2% of the optimal fuel use computed with the exact speed and power trajectory of the vehicle known in advance. All this for a planned distance of more than 500 [km].

Nonlinear Dynamics of an Electrically Actuated MEMS Device: Experimental and Theoretical Investigation

This study deals with an experimental and theoretical investigation of an electrically actuated micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS). The experimental nonlinear dynamics are explored via frequency sweeps in a neighborhood of the first symmetric natural frequency, at increasing values of electrodynamic excitation. Both the non-resonant branch, the resonant one, the jump between them, and the presence of a range of inevitable escape (dynamic pull-in) are observed. To simulate the experimental behavior, a single degree-of-freedom spring mass model is derived, which is based on the information coming from the experimentation. Despite the apparent simplicity, the model is able to catch all the most relevant aspects of the device response. This occurs not only at low values of electrodynamic excitation, but also at higher ones. Nevertheless, the theoretical predictions are not completely fulfilled in some aspects. In particular, the range of existence of each attractor is smaller in practice than in the simulations. This is because, under realistic conditions, disturbances are inevitably encountered (e.g. discontinuous steps when performing the sweeping, approximations in the modeling, etc.) and give uncertainties to the operating initial conditions. A reliable prediction of the actual (and not only theoretical) response is essential in applications. To take disturbances into account, we develop a dynamical integrity analysis. Integrity profiles and integrity charts are performed. They are able to detect the parameter range where each branch can be reliably observed in practice and where, instead, becomes vulnerable. Moreover, depending on the magnitude of the expected disturbances, the integrity charts can serve as a design guideline, in order to effectively operate the device in safe condition, according to the desired outcome.

Free Vibration of Curvilinearly Stiffened Shallow Shells

The free vibration of curvilinearly stiffened doubly curved shallow shells is investigated by the Ritz method. Base on the first order shear deformation shell theory and Timoshenko’s 3-D curved beam theory, the strain and kinetic energies of the stiffened shells are introduced. Numerical results with different geometrical shells and boundary conditions, and different stiffener locations and curvatures are analyzed to verify the feasibility of the presented Ritz method for solving the problems. The results show good agreement with those using the FE method.

An Operationally Optimized Seven Link Biped Robot Moving on Slopes

In this paper, we discuss operational optimization of a seven link biped robot using the well-known “Simulated Annealing” algorithm. Some critical parameters affecting the robot gait pattern are selected to be optimized reducing the total energy used. Nonlinear modeling process we published elsewhere is shown here for completeness. The trajectories of both the hip and ankle joints are used to plan the robot gait on slopes and undoubtedly those parameters would be the target ones for the optimization process. The results we obtained reveal considerable amounts of the energy saved for both the ascending and descending surfaces while keeping the robot stable. The stability criterion we utilized for both the modeling and then optimization is “Zero Moment Point”. A comparative study of human evolutionary gait and the operationally optimized robot is also presented.