The objective of this paper is to introduce and demonstrate a new method for the topology optimization of compliant mechanisms. The proposed method relies on exploiting the topological derivative, and exhibits numerous desirable properties including: (1) the mechanisms are hinge-free; (2) mechanisms with different geometric and mechanical advantages (GA and MA) can be generated by varying a single control parameter; (3) a target volume fraction need not be specified, instead numerous designs, of decreasing volume fractions, are generated in a single optimization run; and (4) the underlying finite element stiffness matrices are well-conditioned. The proposed method and implementation are illustrated through numerical experiments in 2D and 3D.
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March 2015
Research-Article
Hinge-Free Compliant Mechanism Design Via the Topological Level-Set
Anirudh Krishnakumar,
Anirudh Krishnakumar
Department of Mechanical Engineering
,UW-Madison
,Madison, WI 53706
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Krishnan Suresh
Krishnan Suresh
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Anirudh Krishnakumar
Department of Mechanical Engineering
,UW-Madison
,Madison, WI 53706
Krishnan Suresh
Contributed by the Design Automation Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received June 16, 2013; final manuscript received October 24, 2014; published online January 30, 2015. Assoc. Editor: Shinji Nishiwaki.
J. Mech. Des. Mar 2015, 137(3): 031406 (10 pages)
Published Online: March 1, 2015
Article history
Received:
June 16, 2013
Revision Received:
October 24, 2014
Online:
January 30, 2015
Citation
Krishnakumar, A., and Suresh, K. (March 1, 2015). "Hinge-Free Compliant Mechanism Design Via the Topological Level-Set." ASME. J. Mech. Des. March 2015; 137(3): 031406. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4029335
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