Design of Large-Displacement Compliant Mechanisms by Topology Optimization Incorporating Modified Additive Hyperelasticity Technique

This paper is focused on the topology design of compliant mechanisms undergoing large displacement (over 20% of the structural dimension). Based on the artificial spring model and the geometrically nonlinear finite element analysis, the optimization problem is formulated so as to maximize the output...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Liying Liu, Jian Xing, Qingwei Yang, Yangjun Luo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2017-01-01
Series:Mathematical Problems in Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/4679746
Description
Summary:This paper is focused on the topology design of compliant mechanisms undergoing large displacement (over 20% of the structural dimension). Based on the artificial spring model and the geometrically nonlinear finite element analysis, the optimization problem is formulated so as to maximize the output displacement under a given material volume constraint. A modified additive hyperelasticity technique is proposed to circumvent numerical instabilities that occurred in the low-density or intermediate-density elements during the optimization process. Compared to the previous method, the modified technique is very effective and can provide more accurate response analysis for the large-displacement compliant mechanism. The whole optimization process is carried out by the gradient-based mathematical programming method. Numerical examples of a force-inverting mechanism and a microgripping mechanism are presented. The obtained optimal solutions verify the applicability of the proposed numerical techniques and show the necessity of considering large displacement in the design problem.
ISSN:1024-123X
1563-5147