Energy flow and performance evaluation of inerter-based vibration isolators mounted on finite and infinite flexible foundation structures

This study investigates the vibration power flow behavior and performance of inerter-based vibration isolators mounted on finite and infinite flexible beam structures. Two configurations of vibration isolators with spring, damper, and inerter as well as different rigidities of finite and infinite foundation structures are considered. Both the time-averaged power flow transmission and the force transmissibility are studied and used as indices to evaluate the isolation performance. Comparisons are made between the two proposed configurations of inerter-based isolators and the conventional spring-damper isolators to show potential performance benefits of including inerter for effective vibration isolation. It is shown that by configuring the inerter, spring, and damper in parallel in the isolator, anti-peaks are introduced in the time-averaged transmitted power and force transmissibility at specific frequencies such that the vibration transmission to the foundation can be greatly suppressed. When the inerter is connected in series with a spring-damper unit and then in-parallel with a spring, considerable improvement in vibration isolation can be achieved near the original peak frequency while maintaining good high-frequency isolation performance. The study provides better understanding of the effects of adding inerters to vibration isolators mounted on a flexible foundation, and benefits enhanced designs of inerter-based vibration suppression systems.

Optimum Seeking of Redundant Actuators for M-RCM 3-UPU Parallel Mechanism

The singularity problem brings troubles to the design and application for the parallel mechanism. Currently, redundant actuation is one of the useful methods to solve this singularity problem. However, faced to the numerous joints in a parallel mechanism, how to make a quantitative criterion of seeking the most efficient joints added actuators for letting the mechanism passes through singularity is a necessarily open issue. This paper focuses on a 2R1T 3-UPU (U for universal joint and P for prismatic joint) parallel mechanism (PM) with two rotational and one translational (2R1T) degrees of freedom (DOFs) and the ability of multiple remote centers of motion (M-RCM). The singularity analysis based on the indexes of motion/force transmissibility and constraint shows that this PM has transmission singularity, constraint singularity, mixed singularity and limb singularity. To solve these singular problems, the quantifiable redundancy transmission index (RTI) and the redundancy constraint index (RCI) are proposed for optimum seeking of redundant actuators for this PM. Then the appropriate redundant actuators are selected and the working scheme for redundant actuators near the corresponding singular configuration are given to help the PM passes through the singularity. This research proposes a quantitative criterion to optimum seeking of redundant actuators for the parallel mechanism to solve its singularity.

Structural Synthesis of Articulated Manipulators with Non-Fractionated or Fractionated Kinematic Chains without Isomorphism

As the kinematic structure of an articulated manipulator affects the characteristics of its motion, rigidity, vibration, and force transmissibility, finding the most suitable kinematic structure for the desired task is important in the conceptual design phase. This paper proposes a systematic method for generating non-isomorphic graphs of articulated manipulators that consist of a fixed base, an end-effector, and a two-degree-of-freedom (DOF) intermediate kinematic chain connecting the two. Based on the analysis of the structural characteristics of articulated manipulators, the conditions that must be satisfied for manipulators to have a desired DOF is identified. Then, isomorphism-free graph generation methods are proposed based on the concepts of the symmetry of a graph, and the number of graphs generated are determined. As a result, 969 graphs of articulated manipulators that have two-DOF non-fractionated intermediate kinematic chains and 33,438 graphs with two-DOF fractionated intermediate kinematic chains are generated, including practical articulated manipulators widely used in industry.

Transmissibility Analysis of a Regenerated Rotor System

The aim of this paper is to represents a dynamic behavior of rotor bearing system wirth simply supported beam for three different position disc. rotating machinery such as compressors, turbines, pumps, jet engines, turtobo chargers, etc. are subject to vibrations. rotating machines are operated in very high speed and they are subjected to some unbalance force due to vibration from that machine pass to the foundation of machine.so the analysis of the dynamics parameter of rotor it is important to determine force transmissibility, natural frequency, critical speed and amplitudes of rotor system. Keywords: force transmissibility, vibration, critical speed, rotor bearing system etc.

On the Study of Configuration and Kinematics of a 3-DOF Generalized Spherical Parallel Mechanism for Ankle Rehabilitation

The kinematic equivalent model of the existing ankle rehabilitation robot is inconsistent with the anatomy structure of the human ankle, which will influence the rehabilitation effect . Therefore, this paper equivalent the human ankle to the UR model and proposes a novel 3-DOF generalized spherical parallel mechanism for ankle rehabilitation. The parallel mechanism has two spherical centers corresponding to the rotation center of the tibiotalar joint and subtalar joint. Via screw theory, the mobility of the parallel mechanism is analyzed, which meets the requirement of the human ankle. Its inverse kinematics is presented and singularities are identified based on the Jacobian matrix. The workspaces of the parallel mechanism are obtained by the search method and compared with the motion range of the human ankle, which shows that the parallel mechanism could meet the motion demand of ankle rehabilitation. In addition, on the basis of the motion/force transmissibility, the performance atlases are plotted in the parameter optimal design space and the optimum region is obtained according to the demands of practical application. The results show that the parallel mechanism can meet the motion requirements of ankle rehabilitation and have excellent kinematic performance in its rehabilitation range, which provides a theoretical basis for the prototype design and experiment verification.

Analysis and experimental study on dynamic characteristics of an integrated quasi-zero stiffness isolator

The dynamic performance of an integrated quasi-zero stiffness (IQZS) isolator which is constructed by a single elastic structure is investigated in this study. This prototype exhibits the characteristics of the best simplicity, high reliability and without friction by using the minimum number of elements. For completeness, the static properties of the IQZS isolator are provided at first. And then, the dynamic behavior is analyzed and the frequency response under harmonic excitation is derived by using an equivalent mechanical model. Frequency response curves (FRCs) are obtained by using the harmonic balance method (HBM) under force excitation condition. Moreover, the dynamic performance of the nonlinear isolator supporting a lumped mass is investigated by using force transmissibility, which are derived by modelling and compared with an equivalent linear system with the same design parameter values. The isolation performance of the nonlinear isolator outperforms the linear counterpart for providing a larger isolation range. The effects of system parameters on the transmissibility are also examined. At last, the comparison between the analytical and experimental results under force excitation shows that the analytical model of the IQZS isolator is accuracy in terms of force transmissibility. The calculation results discussed may provide a theoretical basis for designing this class of IQZS isolator in engineering practice.

Performance evaluation of a special 6-PUS type parallel manipulator

In this paper, a special 6-PUS parallel manipulator (PM) is utilized as a shaking table. Unlike the existing results about 6-PUS PMs, we make the actuator direction collinear with the linkage direction at neutral position. With respect to the application background, a further analysis of the special PM is carried out from the perspective of motion/force transmissibility, natural frequency and acceleration capability. Specially, the complete dynamics model is established based on the Kane method. Then, generalized transmission indices based on the screw theory are utilized to reflect its motion ability, and a model of natural frequency is proposed with the axial stiffness of linkages considered. Finally, the effect of the angle between the actuator direction and the linkage direction α on various performances is analyzed, and other results are included to illustrate its feasibility and usability.