Cover illustration
Cover Story (Yi Zheng, Kun Xu, Yaobin Tian, Xilun Ding. Front. Mech. Eng., 2022, 17(1): 8)
Legged robot with manipulation function is a hot research topic in recent years. Adding an extra arm is a useful but general method for robots to obtain manipulation ability. Consequently, this article explores a hexapod robot named ALLOMAN which uses integrated leg‒arm limb to realize manipulation wi
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When free-floating space robots perform space tasks, the satellite base attitude is disturbed by the dynamic coupling. The disturbance of the base orientation may affect the communication between the space robot and the control center on earth. In this paper, the enhanced bidirectional approach is proposed to plan the manipulator trajectory and eliminate the final base attitude variation. A novel acceleration level state equation for the nonholonomic problem is proposed, and a new intermediate variable-based Lyapunov function is derived and solved for smooth joint trajectory and restorable base trajectories. In the method, the state equation is first proposed for dual-arm robots with and without end constraints, and the system stability is analyzed to obtain the system input. The input modification further increases the system stability and simplifies the calculation complexity. Simulations are carried out in the end, and the proposed method is validated in minimizing final base attitude change and trajectory smoothness. Moreover, the minute internal force during the coordinated operation and the considerable computing efficiency increases the feasibility of the method during space tasks.
Applying a robot system in ultrasound-guided percutaneous intervention is an effective approach for prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment. The limited space for robot manipulation restricts structure volume and motion. In this paper, an 8-degree-of-freedom robot system is proposed for ultrasound probe manipulation, needle positioning, and needle insertion. A novel parallel structure is employed in the robot system for space saving, structural rigidity, and collision avoidance. The particle swarm optimization method based on informative value is proposed for kinematic parameter identification to calibrate the parallel structure accurately. The method identifies parameters in the modified kinematic model stepwise according to parameter discernibility. Verification experiments prove that the robot system can realize motions needed in targeting. By applying the calibration method, a reasonable, reliable forward kinematic model is built, and the average errors can be limited to 0.963 and 1.846 mm for insertion point and target point, respectively.
This paper presents an extended model predictive control (MPC) scheme for implementing optimal path following of autonomous vehicles, which has multiple constraints and an integrated model of vehicle and road dynamics. Road curvature and inclination factors are used in the construction of the vehicle dynamic model to describe its lateral and roll dynamics accurately. Sideslip, rollover, and vehicle envelopes are used as multiple constraints in the MPC controller formulation. Then, an extended MPC method solved by differential evolution optimization algorithm is proposed to realize optimal smooth path following based on driving path features. Finally, simulation and real experiments are carried out to evaluate the feasibility and the effectiveness of the extended MPC scheme. Results indicate that the proposed method can obtain the smooth transition to follow the optimal drivable path and satisfy the lateral dynamic stability and environmental constraints, which can improve the path following quality for better ride comfort and road availability of autonomous vehicles.
With the widespread application of legged robot in various fields, the demand for a robot with high locomotion and manipulation ability is increasing. Adding an extra arm is a useful but general method for a legged robot to obtain manipulation ability. Hence, this paper proposes a novel hexapod robot with two integrated leg–arm limbs that obtain dexterous manipulation functions besides locomotion ability without adding an extra arm. The manipulation modes can be divided into coordinated manipulation condition and single-limb manipulation condition. The former condition mainly includes fixed coordinated clamping case and fixed coordinated shearing case. For the fixed coordinated clamping case, the degrees of freedom (DOFs) analysis of equivalent parallel mechanism by using screw theory and the constraint equation of two integrated limbs are established. For the fixed coordinated shearing case, the coordinated working space is determined, and an ideal coordinated manipulation ball is presented to guide the coordinated shearing task. In addition, the constraint analysis of two adjacent integrated limbs is performed. Then, mobile manipulation with one integrated leg–arm limb while using pentapod gait is discussed as the single-limb manipulation condition, including gait switching analysis between hexapod gait and pentapod gait, different pentapod gaits analysis, and a complex six-DOF manipulation while walking. Corresponding experiments are implemented, including clamping tasks with two integrated limbs, coordinated shearing task by using two integrated limbs, and mobile manipulation with pentapod gait. This robot provides a new approach to building a multifunctional locomotion platform.
Machine tools are one of the most representative machining systems in manufacturing. The energy consumption of machine tools has been a research hotspot and frontier for green low-carbon manufacturing. However, previous research merely regarded the material removal (MR) energy as useful energy consumption and ignored the useful energy consumed by thermal control (TC) for maintaining internal thermal stability and machining accuracy. In pursuit of energy-efficient, high-precision machining, more attention should be paid to the energy consumption of TC and the coupling relationship between MR and TC. Hence, the cutting energy efficiency model considering the coupling relationship is established based on the law of conservation of energy. An index of energy consumption ratio of TC is proposed to characterize its effect on total energy usage. Furthermore, the heat characteristics are analyzed, which can be adopted to represent machining accuracy. Experimental study indicates that TC is the main energy-consuming process of the precision milling machine tool, which overwhelms the energy consumption of MR. The forced cooling mode of TC results in a 7% reduction in cutting energy efficiency. Regression analysis shows that heat dissipation positively contributes 54.1% to machining accuracy, whereas heat generation negatively contributes 45.9%. This paper reveals the coupling effect of MR and TC on energy efficiency and machining accuracy. It can provide a foundation for energy-efficient, high-precision machining of machine tools.
Tool failures in machining processes often cause severe damages of workpieces and lead to large quantities of loss, making tool condition monitoring an important, urgent issue. However, problems such as practicability still remain in actual machining. Here, a real-time tool condition monitoring method integrated in an in situ fiber optic temperature measuring apparatus is proposed. A thermal simulation is conducted to investigate how the fluctuating cutting heats affect the measuring temperatures, and an intermittent cutting experiment is carried out, verifying that the apparatus can capture the rapid but slight temperature undulations. Fourier transform is carried out. The spectrum features are then selected and input into the artificial neural network for classification, and a caution is given if the tool is worn. A learning rate adaption algorithm is introduced, greatly reducing the dependence on initial parameters, making training convenient and flexible. The accuracy stays 90% and higher in variable argument processes. Furthermore, an application program with a graphical user interface is constructed to present real-time results, confirming the practicality.
In the design and troubleshooting of aero-engine pipeline, the vibration reduction of the pipeline system is often achieved by adjusting the hoop layout, provided that the shape of pipeline remains unchanged. However, in reality, the pipeline system with the best antivibration performance may be obtained only by adjusting the pipeline shape. In this paper, a typical spatial pipeline is taken as the research object, the length of straight-line segment is taken as the design variable, and an innovative optimization method of avoiding vibration of aero-engine pipeline is proposed. The relationship between straight-line segment length and parameters that determine the geometric characteristics of the pipeline, such as the position of key reference points, bending angle, and hoop position, are derived in detail. Based on this, the parametric finite element model of the pipeline system is established. Taking the maximum first-order natural frequency of pipeline as the optimization objective and introducing process constraints and vibration avoidance constraints, the optimization model of the pipeline system is established. The genetic algorithm and the golden section algorithm are selected to solve the optimization model, and the relevant solution procedure is described in detail. Finally, two kinds of pipelines with different total lengths are selected to carry out a case study. Based on the analysis of the influence of straight-line segment length on the vibration characteristics of the pipeline system, the optimization methods developed in this paper are demonstrated. Results show that the developed optimization method can obtain the optimal single value or interval of the straight-line segment length while avoiding the excitation frequency. In addition, the optimization efficiency of the golden section algorithm is remarkably higher than that of the genetic algorithm for length optimization of a single straight-line segment.
The variable density topology optimization (TO) method has been applied to various engineering fields because it can effectively and efficiently generate the conceptual design for engineering structures. However, it suffers from the problem of low continuity resulting from the discreteness of both design variables and explicit Heaviside filter. In this paper, an implicit Heaviside filter with high continuity is introduced to generate black and white designs for TO where the design space is parameterized by suitably graded truncated hierarchical B-splines (THB). In this approach, the fixed analysis mesh of isogeometric analysis is decoupled from the design mesh, whose adaptivity is implemented by truncated hierarchical B-spline subjected to an admissible requirement. Through the intrinsic local support and high continuity of THB basis, an implicit adaptively adjusted Heaviside filter is obtained to remove the checkboard patterns and generate black and white designs. Threefold advantages are attained in the proposed filter: a) The connection between analysis mesh and adaptive design mesh is easily established compared with the traditional adaptive TO method using nodal density; b) the efficiency in updating design variables is remarkably improved than the traditional implicit sensitivity filter based on B-splines under successive global refinement; and c) the generated black and white designs are preliminarily compatible with current commercial computer aided design system. Several numerical examples are used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed implicit Heaviside filter in compliance and compliant mechanism as well as heat conduction TO problems.
Rotating machine fault signal extraction becomes increasingly important in practical engineering applications. However, fault signals with low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) are difficult to extract, especially at the early stage of fault diagnosis. In this paper, 2D line-defect phononic crystals (PCs) consisting of periodic acrylic tubes with slit are proposed for weak signal detection. The defect band, namely, the formed resonance band of line-defect PCs enables the incident acoustic wave at the resonance frequency to be trapped and enhanced at the resonance cavity. The noise can be filtered by the band gap. As a result, fault signals with high SNRs can be obtained for fault feature extraction. The effectiveness of weak harmonic and periodic impulse signal detection via line-defect PCs are investigated in numerical and experimental studies. All the numerical and experimental results indicate that line-defect PCs can be well used for extracting weak harmonic and periodic impulse signals. This work will provide potential for extracting weak signals in many practical engineering applications.
Gear wear is one of the most common gear failures, which changes the mesh relationship of normal gear. A new mesh relationship caused by gear wear affects meshing excitations, such as mesh stiffness and transmission error, and further increases vibration and noise level. This paper aims to establish the model of mesh relationship and reveal the vibration characteristics of external spur gears with gear wear. A geometric model for a new mesh relationship with gear wear is proposed, which is utilized to evaluate the influence of gear wear on mesh stiffness and unloaded static transmission error (USTE). Based on the mesh stiffness and USTE considering gear wear, a gear dynamic model is established, and the vibration characteristics of gear wear are numerically studied. Comparison with the experimental results verifies the proposed dynamic model based on the new mesh relationship. The numerical and experimental results indicate that gear wear does not change the structure of the spectrum, but it alters the amplitude of the meshing frequencies and their sidebands. Several condition indicators, such as root-mean-square, kurtosis, and first-order meshing frequency amplitude, can be regarded as important bases for judging gear wear state.
Aiming at the exploration and resource utilization activities on the Moon, in situ resource utilization and in situ manufacturing are proposed to minimize the dependence on the ground transportation supplies. In this paper, a laser-assisted additive manufacturing process is developed to fabricate lunar regolith composites with PA12/SiO2 mixing powders. The process parameters and composite material compositions are optimized in an appropriate range through orthogonal experiments to establish the relationship of process–structure–property for lunar regolith composites. The optimal combination of composite material compositions and process parameters are mixing ratio of 50/50 in volume, laser power of 30 W, scanning speed of 3500 mm/s, and scanning hatch space of 0.2 mm. The maximum tensile strength of lunar regolith composites reaches 9.248 MPa, and the maximum depth of surface variation is 120.79 μm, which indicates poor powder fusion and sintering quality. Thereafter, the mechanical properties of laser-sintered lunar regolith composites are implemented to the topology optimization design of complex structures. The effectiveness and the feasibility of this laser-assisted process are potentially developed for future lightweight design and manufacturing of the solar panel installed on the lunar rover.
In die casting, the real-time measurement of the stress of the tie-bar helps ensure product quality and protect the machine itself. However, the traditional magnetic-attached strain gauge is installed in the mold and product operating area, which hinders the loading and unloading of the mold and the collection of die castings. In this paper, a method for real-time measurement of stress using ultrasonic technology is proposed. The stress variation of the tie-bar is analyzed, and a mathematical model between ultrasonic signal and stress based on acoustoelastic theory is established. Verification experiments show that the proposed method agrees with the strain gauge, and the maximum of the difference square is only 1.5678 (MPa)2. Furthermore, single-factor experiments are conducted. A higher ultrasonic frequency produces a better measurement accuracy, and the mean of difference squares at 2.5 and 5 MHz are 2.3234 and 0.6733 (MPa)2, respectively. Measurement accuracy is insensitive to probe location and tonnage of the die-casting machine. Moreover, the ultrasonic measurement method can be used to monitor clamping health status and inspect the dynamic pulling force of the tie-bar. This approach has the advantages of high precision, high repeatability, easy installation, and noninterference, which helps guide the production in die casting.
The power density of axial piston pumps can greatly benefit from increasing the speed level. However, traditional slippers in axial piston pumps are exposed to continuous sliding on the swash plate, suffering from serious wear at high rotational speeds. Therefore, this paper presents a new integrated slipper retainer mechanism for high-speed axial piston pumps, which can avoid direct contact between the slippers and the swash plate and thereby eliminate slipper wear under severe operating conditions. A lubrication model was developed for this specific slipper retainer mechanism, and experiments were carried out on a pump prototype operating at high rotational speed up to 10000 r/min. Experimental results qualitatively validated the theoretical model and confirmed the effectiveness of the new slipper design.
