SUMMARY

This research seeks to develop a finite element based dynamic modeling methodology for design and analysis of compliant mechanisms which transfer input force, displacement and energy through elastic deformations. However, most published analyses have largely based on simple beam models neglecting the effects of damping and nonlinearity of deformable contacts. For applications such as handling of live objects by compliant robotic hands, there is a need for a dynamic model capable of analysing large deformation, contact and damping effects on the motion of compliant mechanisms. The proposed research begins with the formulation of an explicit dynamic finite element method (FEM) for modelling a dynamic compliant mechanism, which takes into accounts the effects of damping, large deformation and contacts, and considers numerical stability in terms of time step and mesh quality. Unlike previous studies commonly focusing on design optimization of geometric parameters, the thesis research includes both geometric and operating parameters for evaluation in developing a general framework, where the dynamic performance and realistic motion trajectory of a multi-body system are particularly interested. The effectiveness of the proposed method will be investigated in the context of two practical applications. While this thesis research has an immediate application in poultry handling automation, which can be regarded as the simulation-based engineering science (SBES) in poultry industry, the method developed here can be extended to solving general dynamic problems.