Optimizing Compliant Mechanisms for Sustainable Materials: A Case Study of a Compliant Grasper

Optimizing Compliant Mechanisms for Sustainable Materials: A Case Study of a Compliant Grasper

Diepens, T.

Herder, J.L. (mentor)

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Precision and Microsystems Engineering

Bio-Inspired Technology

2015-05-06

Optimization in engineering could and should be used for more than just optimizing performance of mechanisms. In a world with growing environmental pressure and increasing scarcity of materials, thinking about how we could make better use of materials becomes more and more important. This is where optimization could be used to make sure mechanism satisfy their requirements while using more sustainable materials. Mechanisms which have potential for sustainable designs, due to their monolithic nature and simplicity, are compliant mechanisms. These mechanisms however heavily rely on material properties and thus often require high quality materials.This paper defines and tests a method for optimizing compliant mechanisms for sustainable materials by minimizing the demands for the material while making sure the mechanism still fulfills its requirements. This is done using two case studies: a laparoscopic grasper with strict boundary conditions, and a larger compliant grasper with less strict boundary conditions.

compliant mechanisms
optimization
sustainability

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:3d92d974-2337-4593-a003-e422489d8966

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2015 Diepens, T.