Compliant joints utilizing the principle of closed form pressure balancing

Compliant joints have significant advantages compared to rigid-body hinges due to a monolithic design and the absence of friction, which prevents effects like wear, backlash, and stick-slip behavior. However, the loading capability is often limited and the support stiffness generally decreases during rotation. A new design principle called...

Whiffletree based supports for self-adjustable hydrostatic bearings

Hydrostatic bearings are superior in terms of their friction and load carrying characteristics when compared to contact based bearings, but non-usable in applications with non-constant curvature counter surfaces. A possible solution to this limitation is the introduction of deformable hydrostatic bearings components that cope with these...

An eco-impact design metric for water lubricated bearings based on anticipatory Life Cycle Assessment

Water lubricated bearings have been named in literature as a sustainable alternative to their oil-based counterparts. In order to clarify when water lubricated bearings are or are not a sustainable alternative, and inform design decisions, an analytical design tool is introduced based on anticipatory Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This model is...