Static deflection modeling of combined flexible beams using elliptic integral solution

Abstract

Abstract A beam composed of serially connected flexible segments can definitely diversify the option of components for the design of compliant mechanisms. Although the static deflection of such a beam can be considered as the superposition of the deflections of all segments, there is still a lack of available modeling methods due to the comprehensive interactions. This paper presents a method for modeling the static deflection of combined flexible beams (CFBs) composed of either straight or circular-arc segments. By deriving the deflection model of a flexible segment using the elliptic integral solution, an iterative approach is proposed for the deflection analysis of the CFB under the action of combined loads. Then, taking the CFB composed of two straight and one circular-arc segments as an example, the numerical simulation and experimental study are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the derived model. The results show its capability of accurately predicting the tip deflection of the beam.