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Dynamic analysis of a simplified flexible manipulator with interval joint clearances and random material properties

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Abstract

Flexible manipulator is an emerging technique in aerospace engineering, especially in the assembly, testing and maintenance of space stations. Dynamic analysis of a flexible manipulator with multiple clearance joints and hybrid uncertainties is a great challenge as compared to traditional flexible manipulator. To solve the problem, a dynamics model for a simplified flexible manipulator with interval clearance joints and random material properties was established. In this model, the Lankarani–Nikravesh contact force model was used to construct the clearance joint, while a combined feedforward–feedback control strategy based on a PID controller was applied to control the flexible manipulator. In addition, the clearance sizes and the Young’s moduli of the flexible parts were described by interval variables and random fields, respectively. To solve the dynamics model, a general methodology, based on the Karhunen–Loève expansion and Kriging model, was presented. Finally, numerical examples were employed to demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach. The simulation results indicate that the joint clearance, the flexibility of the components and the uncertainties have great impacts on the kinematic accuracy and dynamic behaviors of the flexible manipulator, while hybrid uncertainties result in worse kinematic accuracy and more complex dynamic behaviors.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Chongqing Research Program of Basic Research and Frontier Technology (Grant No. cstc2016jcyjA0378), Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities (Grant No. 2018CDXYHK0016), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51505398, 11702131), NSAF (Grant No. U1530122) and Aeronautical Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 20150968003).

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  1. Dongyang Sun and Baoqiang Zhang have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Aerospace Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Dongyang Sun & Xuefeng Liang

  2. School of Aerospace Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Baoqiang Zhang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 210016, China

    Yan Shi

  4. Institute of Electronic Engineering, CAEP, Mianyang, 621900, China

    Bin Suo

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  1. Dongyang Sun
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  2. Baoqiang Zhang
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Correspondence to Dongyang Sun.

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Sun, D., Zhang, B., Liang, X. et al. Dynamic analysis of a simplified flexible manipulator with interval joint clearances and random material properties. Nonlinear Dyn 98, 1049–1063 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11071-019-05248-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11071-019-05248-3

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