A slender compliant mechanism for back support with non-linear behavior
S.S.L. Koentges (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
A. Nobaveh – Mentor (TU Delft - Mechatronic Systems Design)
S.J. Wagemaker – Mentor (Laevo)
Just Herder – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Precision and Microsystems Engineering)
R.A.J. van Ostayen – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Mechatronic Systems Design)
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Abstract
This work aims to achieve a softening moment-angle response by utilizing compliant parts. The approach uses the principle of contact release, which involves initially prestressed torsional bars arranged in series, separated by rigid bodies. By stepwise activation of the torsional bars, a softening behavior is achieved. Mechanical stops are employed to maintain the initial prestress.
A Pseudo Rigid Body Model (PRBM) is developed to calculate the moment-angle behavior of the complete prototype. The optimization of the PRBM is performed using a cost function based on the least square error. The optimization parameters are the stiffness of the torsional bars and their initial prestress. Additionally, a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is conducted to analyze the behavior of an individual I-profile torsional bar. Experimental validation of both the PRBM and the FEA models is carried out using a prototype. The prototype is constructed based on the results obtained from the PRBM optimization to follow the desired graph closely. The results from both FEA and PRBM align closely with the predicted curves, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed approach.