4 research outputs found
ELECTROHYDRODYNAMIC PUMPING PRESSURE GENERATION
Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pumping relies on the interaction between electric fields and dissociated charges in dielectric fluids. EHD pumps are small, have no moving parts and offer superior performance for heat transport. These pumps are therefore able to generate high mass flow rates but high pressure generation is difficult to achieve from these devices. In this Major Qualifying Project, a macro-scale, EHD conduction pump capable of generating up to 400 Pa per section was designed, built and tested. The pump is comprised of pairs of porous, 1.6mm wide high-voltage electrodes with a pore size of 10µm and 3.7mm long flush, ring ground electrodes, spaced 1.6mm apart. The space between pairs is 8mm, with 8 pairs per section. The working fluid is the Novec 7600 engineering fluid
MEMS Gyroscopes for Consumers and Industrial Applications
none2mixedAntonello, Riccardo; Oboe, RobertoAntonello, Riccardo; Oboe, Robert
Design, development and control of a new generation high performance linear actuator for parallel robots and other applications
The main focus of this research is to design and develop a high performance linear
actuator based on a four bar mechanism. The present work includes the detailed analysis
(kinematics and dynamics), design, implementation and experimental validation of the
newly designed actuator. High performance is characterized by the acceleration of the
actuator end effector. The principle of the newly designed actuator is to network the four
bar rhombus configuration (where some bars are extended to form an X shape) to attain
high acceleration.
Firstly, a detailed kinematic analysis of the actuator is presented and kinematic
performance is evaluated through MATLAB simulations. A dynamic equation of the
actuator is achieved by using the Lagrangian dynamic formulation. A SIMULINK control
model of the actuator is developed using the dynamic equation. In addition, Bond Graph
methodology is presented for the dynamic simulation. The Bond Graph model comprises
individual component modeling of the actuator along with control. Required torque was
simulated using the Bond Graph model. Results indicate that, high acceleration (around
20g) can be achieved with modest (3 N-m or less) torque input.
A practical prototype of the actuator is designed using SOLIDWORKS and then
produced to verify the proof of concept. The design goal was to achieve the peak acceleration of more than 10g at the middle
point of the travel length, when the end effector travels the stroke length (around 1 m).
The actuator is primarily designed to operate in standalone condition and later to use it in
the 3RPR parallel robot.
A DC motor is used to operate the actuator. A quadrature encoder is attached with the DC
motor to control the end effector. The associated control scheme of the actuator is
analyzed and integrated with the physical prototype. From standalone experimentation of
the actuator, around 17g acceleration was achieved by the end effector (stroke length was
0.2m to 0.78m). Results indicate that the developed dynamic model results are in good
agreement.
Finally, a Design of Experiment (DOE) based statistical approach is also introduced to
identify the parametric combination that yields the greatest performance. Data are
collected by using the Bond Graph model. This approach is helpful in designing the
actuator without much complexity