Date of Award
12-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Civil Engineering
Committee Chair/Advisor
Laura Redmond
Committee Member
Weichiang Pang
Committee Member
M.Z. Naser
Abstract
Ongoing research between Clemson University and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has been conducted to characterize and assess rigid-flex printed circuit board (PCB) robotics subjected to dynamic loads. A lightweight, PCB lunar rover, PUFFER (Pop-Up Flat Folding Explorer Robot), was designed by NASA JPL for Mars missions, but its deployment for lunar missions has been investigated as well. Its current architecture, however, is insufficient for navigating and surviving the lunar environment, and reinforcement has been recommended as a solution to protect larger panels.
This research work presents a dynamic topology optimization process for PCB panel reinforcement. A thorough literature review was completed to investigate prior research efforts regarding existing optimization methodologies and prevalent PCB failure mechanisms. There are a notable lack of adequate reinforcing solutions for PCB and a lack of established dynamic topology optimization methodology for PCB that leverages commercial software. To address this gap in research, a dynamic topology optimization workflow was proposed for rigid-flex PCB robotics. Specifically, this workflow focused on optimizing reinforcement for PUFFER. The objectives of this research were to design a PCB specimen for a single-panel reinforcement optimization routine and experimental testing, preliminarily demonstrate the optimization routine for various output metrics using commercial analysis software (specifically, Abaqus), and correlate the finite element model (FEM) with modal testing results for model validation. These research objectives were fulfilled through the design of the PCB specimen and a custom vibration shaker head expander for experimental testing, the selection of an appropriate power spectral density (PSD) test specification to simulate launch loads for interplanetary missions, the preliminary demonstration of a single-panel reinforcement optimization procedure for the output metrics of maximum strain energy and maximum absolute principal stress in the PCB, and the modification and correlation of the FEM to modal testing results. The dynamic topology optimization procedure demonstrated that the output metric of maximum absolute principal stress was slightly more optimal for the designed PCB specimen. Model validation efforts were successful in correlating the FEM to experimental testing results.
Recommended Citation
Semler, Ryan G., "Dynamic Topology Optimization and Experimental Validation of Reinforcement for PCB Robotics" (2025). All Theses. 4661.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4661