An efficient finite element formulation of dynamics for a flexible robot with different type of joints

If two adjacent links of a flexible robot are connected via a revolute joint or a fixed prismatic joint, the relative motion of the next link will depend on both the joint motion and the elastic displacement of the distal end of the previous link. However, if the two adjacent links are connected via a sliding prismatic joint, the relative motion of the next link will depend additionally on the elastic deformation distributed along the previous link. Therefore, formulation of the motion equations for a multi-link flexible robot consisting of the revolute joints, the fixed prismatic joints and the sliding prismatic joints is challenging. In this study, the finite element kinematic and dynamic formulation was successfully developed and validated for the flexible robot, in which a transformation matrix is proposed to describe the kinematics of both the joint motion and the link deformation. Additionally, a new recursive formulation of the dynamic equations is introduced. As compared with the previous methods, the time complexity of the formulation is reduced by O(2η), where η is the number of finite elements on all links. The numerical examples and experiments were implemented to validate the proposed kinematic and dynamic modelling method

Inverse kinematic control algorithm for a welding robot - positioner system to trace a 3D complex curve

The welding robots equipped with rotary positioners have been widely used in several manufacturing industries. However, for welding a 3D complex weld seam, a great deal of points should be created to ensure the weld path smooth. This is a boring job and is a great challenge - rotary positioner system since the robot and the positioner must move simultaneously at the same time. Therefore, in this article, a new inverse kinematics solution is proposed to generate the movement codes for a six DOFs welding robot incorporated with a rotary positioner. In the algorithm, the kinematic error is minimized, and the actual welding error is controlled so that it is always less than an allowable limit. It has shown that the proposed algorithm is useful in developing an offline CAD-based programming tool for robots when welding complex 3D paths. The use of the algorithm increases the accuracy of the end-effector positioning and orientation, and reduces the time for teaching a welding robot - positioner system. Simulation scenarios demonstrate the potency of the suggested method

Novel robot arm design and implementation for hot forging press automation

Manual handling of hot and heavy workpiece in forging press industry increases the process time and causes safety risks to workers. To increase the productivity and optimise the use of manpower, manipulators are needed to be designed for supporting the workers handling the workpiece. Designing robots for such applications is challenging since the robot suffers from a heavy payload at the arm tip, and it operates at a high speed in a large workspace. This research addresses the design and implementation of a novel robot for handling workpiece for a given forging press cell. A novel robotic mechanism is designed with two key features: (i) the addition of parallel links in between serial links and (ii) the use of hydraulic actuators for driving robot’s joints. The addition of parallel links and the use of hydraulic cylinders are to increase the structural rigidity. It is also to reduce the number of joint variables and restrict the end-effector moving parallel to the ground surface so that the robot grips and releases the workpiece in a more efficient and simplified manner. The effectiveness of the designed robot mechanism is demonstrated through functional tests, and experimental results are carried out on the implemented robot

Magnetism and its microscopic origin in iron-based high-temperature superconductors

High-temperature superconductivity in the iron-based materials emerges from, or sometimes coexists with, their metallic or insulating parent compound states. This is surprising since these undoped states display dramatically different antiferromagnetic (AF) spin arrangements and N$\rm \acute{e}$el temperatures. Although there is general consensus that magnetic interactions are important for superconductivity, much is still unknown concerning the microscopic origin of the magnetic states. In this review, progress in this area is summarized, focusing on recent experimental and theoretical results and discussing their microscopic implications. It is concluded that the parent compounds are in a state that is more complex than implied by a simple Fermi surface nesting scenario, and a dual description including both itinerant and localized degrees of freedom is needed to properly describe these fascinating materials.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, Review article, accepted for publication in Nature Physic

Fractal Dimension Analysis of Transient Visual Evoked Potentials: Optimisation and Applications

Purpose The visual evoked potential (VEP) provides a time series signal response to an external visual stimulus at the location of the visual cortex. The major VEP signal components, peak latency and amplitude, may be affected by disease processes. Additionally, the VEP contains fine detailed and non-periodic structure, of presently unclear relevance to normal function, which may be quantified using the fractal dimension. The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic investigation of the key parameters in the measurement of the fractal dimension of VEPs, to develop an optimal analysis protocol for application. Methods VEP time series were mathematically transformed using delay time, τ, and embedding dimension, m, parameters. The fractal dimension of the transformed data was obtained from a scaling analysis based on straight line fits to the numbers of pairs of points with separation less than r versus log(r) in the transformed space. Optimal τ, m, and scaling analysis were obtained by comparing the consistency of results using different sampling frequencies. The optimised method was then piloted on samples of normal and abnormal VEPs. Results Consistent fractal dimension estimates were obtained using τ = 4 ms, designating the fractal dimension = D2 of the time series based on embedding dimension m = 7 (for 3606 Hz and 5000 Hz), m = 6 (for 1803 Hz) and m = 5 (for 1000Hz), and estimating D2 for each embedding dimension as the steepest slope of the linear scaling region in the plot of log(C(r)) vs log(r) provided the scaling region occurred within the middle third of the plot. Piloting revealed that fractal dimensions were higher from the sampled abnormal than normal achromatic VEPs in adults (p = 0.02). Variances of fractal dimension were higher from the abnormal than normal chromatic VEPs in children (p = 0.01). Conclusions A useful analysis protocol to assess the fractal dimension of transformed VEPs has been developed

Machine-Part cell formation through visual decipherable clustering of Self Organizing Map

Machine-part cell formation is used in cellular manufacturing in order to process a large variety, quality, lower work in process levels, reducing manufacturing lead-time and customer response time while retaining flexibility for new products. This paper presents a new and novel approach for obtaining machine cells and part families. In the cellular manufacturing the fundamental problem is the formation of part families and machine cells. The present paper deals with the Self Organising Map (SOM) method an unsupervised learning algorithm in Artificial Intelligence, and has been used as a visually decipherable clustering tool of machine-part cell formation. The objective of the paper is to cluster the binary machine-part matrix through visually decipherable cluster of SOM color-coding and labelling via the SOM map nodes in such a way that the part families are processed in that machine cells. The Umatrix, component plane, principal component projection, scatter plot and histogram of SOM have been reported in the present work for the successful visualization of the machine-part cell formation. Computational result with the proposed algorithm on a set of group technology problems available in the literature is also presented. The proposed SOM approach produced solutions with a grouping efficacy that is at least as good as any results earlier reported in the literature and improved the grouping efficacy for 70% of the problems and found immensely useful to both industry practitioners and researchers.Comment: 18 pages,3 table, 4 figure

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum