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An Effective Method of Synthesizing Compliant Adaptive Structures using Load Path Representation

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, kjlu{at}gwu.edu

Sridhar Kota

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125, USA

The synthesis of shape morphing compliant mechanism is inherently different from the typical single output design problems, due to the multiple output points along the morphing boundary. We have previously developed a genetic algorithm (GA)-based synthesis approach, incorporating a binary ground structure parameterization, to systematically design shape morphing compliant mechanisms. However, the approach is ineffective due to issues such as the generation of disconnected structures and the need to choose an initial mesh. In this paper, we present the ‘load path representation,’ which is developed to overcome the issues encountered using the binary ground structure parameterization. The performance of the load path approach over the binary ground structure approach is demonstrated through several design examples. The results have shown that the load path approach offers several advantages, such as (a) eliminating the need of an initial ground structure, (b) ensuring structural connectivity, and (c) yielding solutions that generate desired shape change efficiently.

Key Words: compliant mechanism • adaptive shape morphing • load path representation • binary ground structure • genetic algorithm

Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, Vol. 16, No. 4, 307-317 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1045389X05050104


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