Coupling between the Output Force and Stiffness in Different Variable Stiffness Actuators

Actuators

关键词: stiffness;    external load;    variable stiffness actuator;   

DOI  :  10.3390/act3030270

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The fundamental objective in developing variable stiffness actuators is to enable the actuator to deliberately tune its stiffness. This is done through controlling the energy flow extracted from internal power units, i.e., the motors of a variable stiffness actuator (VSA). However, the stiffness may also be unintentionally affected by the external environment, over which, there is no control. This paper analysis the correlation between the external loads, applied to different variable stiffness actuators, and their resultant output stiffness. Different types of variable stiffness actuators have been studied considering springs with different types of nonlinearity. The results provide some insights into how to design the actuator mechanism and nonlinearity of the springs in order to increase the decoupling between the load and stiffness in these actuators. This would significantly widen the application range of a variable stiffness actuator.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.