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Path‐generation of articulated mechanisms by shape and topology variations in non‐linear truss representation
Author(s) -
Kawamoto A.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.421
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1097-0207
pISSN - 0029-5981
DOI - 10.1002/nme.1407
Subject(s) - truss , topology (electrical circuits) , topology optimization , path (computing) , representation (politics) , mechanism (biology) , process (computing) , computer science , mathematical optimization , mathematics , engineering , finite element method , structural engineering , philosophy , epistemology , combinatorics , politics , law , political science , programming language , operating system
This paper presents studies on an optimization‐based method for path‐generation of articulated mechanisms. An extended truss ground‐structure approach is taken in which both the shape and topology of the truss are designed using cross‐sectional areas and nodal positions as design variables. This leads to a technique for simultaneous type and dimensional synthesis of articulated mechanisms. For the analysis part it is essential to control the mechanism configuration so that the mechanism remains within a given configuration space, thus stabilizing the optimization process and resulting in realistic solutions. This can be achieved by using the Levenberg–Marquardt method. The design method is illustrated by a number of design cases for both closed and open input and output paths. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.