A numerical method for static analysis of pseudo-rigid-body model of compliant mechanisms

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical method for analyzing the pseudo-rigid-body model of compliant mechanisms based on finite elements and the principle of minimum potential energy. The proposed method represents the links of pseudo-rigid-body model with truss elements. As a result, the pseudo-rigid-body model is modeled into a compliant system that consists of finite elements and springs. The static equilibrium position of the pseudo-rigid-body model can be obtained by minimizing the potential energy function of this compliant system. A comparison between the proposed method and the MinPE method is presented. Lastly, a case study is provided to demonstrate the application of this method in the automated analysis of pseudo-rigid-body models. This numerical method paves the way for introducing the topology optimization techniques into the synthesis of flexure-based compliant mechanisms.