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STRUCTURAL & MULTIDISCIPLINARY OPTIMIZATION GROUP
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Dr. Haftka Dr. Kim Mechanical
& Aerospace Engineering University
of Florida |
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Design Theory and
Computational Modeling Tools for Systems with Evolving Kinematics
The objective of this research is to develop design theory and computational modeling tools for mechanical joints, whose geometry changes over time, due to wear in their contacting surfaces. These geometric changes in turn alter the contact stress distribution at the interface, and cause subtle changes in the motion of the mechanism, which lead to changes in the forces of the entire mechanism. The goal of this research is to develop principal-based engineering analysis tools that can accurately predict the geometric evolution of joints and the resulting kinematic evolution mechanisms, allowing accurate prediction of the life of mechanical components in relative motion. The coupling between joint wear and system kinematics is modeled by integrating a wear prediction process, built upon a widely used finite-element-based iterative scheme, with a dynamic model representing joints that have changed progressively due to wear. The accuracy of the tool is validated experimentally using a slider-crank mechanism. |