Date of Award

5-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Legacy Department

Mechanical Engineering

Committee Chair/Advisor

Dr. Gregory Mocko

Committee Member

Dr. Georges Fadel

Committee Member

Dr. Gang Li

Abstract

A compliant joint is a connection between two bodies that derives its movement from the deflection of flexible members rather than rigid connections, like traditional joints. Compliant joints have potential advantages that include longer part life, reduction of parts in assemblies, and reduced wear. Traditional compliant mechanism design methodologies have limitations involving the burden of necessary knowledge required to satisfactorily use them. The method presented in this thesis was developed to provide compliant joint design solutions independent of the traditional methods of compliant joint design by allowing the selection of compliant joints from a repository. The repository is populated by a set of twenty compliant joint models which are characterized by their geometric characteristics and parametric equations. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulation is used to validate each of the individual models. The selection algorithm solves the models systematically using the design requirements set by the user. Results are presented to the user in the form of a list of compliant joints that fulfill the user requirements, and Pareto curves that represent the potential range of stiffness and deflection of compliant joints across the set of geometric characteristics in the design space. Ten test cases were applied to the selection algorithm to validate the output results.

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