Jonathan B. Hopkins

Multistable Shape‐Reconfigurable Architected Materials

Multistable shape-reconfigurable architected materials encompassing living hinges and enabling combinations of high strength, high volumetric change, and complex shape-morphing patterns are introduced. Analytical and numerical investigations, validated by experiments, are performed to characterize the mechanical behavior of the proposed materials. The proposed architected materials can be constructed from virtually any base material, at any length scale and dimensionality.

Designing Microstructural Architectures With Thermally Actuated Properties Using Freedom, Actuation, and Constraint Topologies

In this paper, we demonstrate how the principles of the freedom, actuation, and constraint topologies (FACT) approach may be applied to the synthesis, analysis, and optimization of microstructural architectures that possess extreme or unusual thermal expansion properties (e.g., zero or large negative-thermal expansion coefficients). FACT provides designers with a comprehensive library of geometric shapes, which may be used to visualize the regions wherein various microstructural elements can be placed for achieving desired bulk material properties. In this way, designers can rapidly consider and compare a multiplicity of microstructural concepts that satisfy the desired design requirements before selecting the final concept. A complementary analytical tool is also provided to help designers rapidly calculate and optimize the desired thermal properties of the microstructural concepts that are generated using FACT. As a case study, this tool is used to calculate the negative-thermal expansion coefficient of a microstructural architecture synthesized using FACT. The result of this calculation is verified using a finite element analysis (FEA) package called ale3d.

Type Synthesis Principle and Practice of Flexure Systems in the Framework of Screw Theory: Part I—General Methodology

The systematic methodologies involved in type synthesis of flexure systems are no doubt helpful to generate one and more high-performance precision machine designs at the stage of conceptual design with a rapid and effective way. This paper provides a systematic formulation of the type synthesis of parallel, serial, and hybrid flexure systems via a mapping from a geometric concept to physical entity. The whole type synthesis principle is built upon screw system theory and the geometric Freedom and Constraint Topology (FACT) approach, also combining with other concepts and methods including equivalent compliance mapping, building block etc, which enables the type synthesis of flexure systems deterministic, simple and practical. After that, Type synthesis procedure for various flexure systems are elaborated with examples. As a result, as many specified-DOF (Degree of Freedom) flexure systems as possible can be found and therefore pave the way for obtaining an optimal configuration.Copyright

Eliminating Underconstraint in Double Parallelogram Flexure Mechanisms

We present an improved flexure linkage design for removing underconstraint in a double parallelogram (DP) linear flexural mechanism. This new linkage alleviates many of the problems associated with current linkage design solutions such as static and dynamic performance losses and increased footprint. The improvements of the new linkage design will enable wider adoption of underconstraint eliminating (UE) linkages, especially in the design of linear flexural bearings. Comparisons are provided between the new linkage design and existing UE designs over a range of features including footprint, dynamics, and kinematics. A nested linkage design is shown through finite element analysis (FEA) and experimental measurement to work as predicted in selectively eliminating the underconstrained degrees-of-freedom (DOF) in DP linear flexure bearings. The improved bearing shows an 11 × gain in the resonance frequency and 134× gain in static stiffness of the underconstrained DOF, as designed. Analytical expressions are presented for designers to calculate the linear performance of the nested UE linkage (average error < 5%). The concept presented in this paper is extended to an analogous double-nested rotary flexure design.

Polytope Sector-Based Synthesis and Analysis of Microstructural Architectures With Tunable Thermal Conductivity and Expansion

The aim of this paper is to (1) introduce an approach, called polytope sector-based synthesis (PSS), for synthesizing 2D or 3D microstructural architectures that exhibit a desired bulk-property directionality (e.g., isotropic, cubic, orthotropic, etc.), and (2) provide general analytical methods that can be used to rapidly optimize the geometric parameters of these architectures such that they achieve a desired combination of bulk thermal conductivity and thermal expansion properties. Although the methods introduced can be applied to general beam-based microstructural architectures, we demonstrate their utility in the context of an architecture that can be tuned to achieve a large range of extreme thermal expansion coefficients—positive, zero, and negative. The material-property-combination region that can be achieved by this architecture is determined within an Ashby-material-property plot of thermal expansion versus thermal conductivity using the analytical methods introduced. These methods are verified using finite-element analysis (FEA) and both 2D and 3D versions of the design have been fabricated using projection microstereolithography.

Programmable elastic metamaterials

We introduce a novel concept for the design of programmable-elasticity metamaterials; materials whose elastic properties can be modified instantaneously and reversibly on demand. Real-time tunable linear and nonlinear elastic moduli are obtained in lattice materials by adjustment of strut connectivity via actuation of embedded electromagnetic locks. The Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio of prototype 2D materials are varied instantaneously by more than 2 orders of magnitude and between 0.15 and 0.9, respectively. The buckling strength of the structure is altered by an order of magnitude between two bifurcation states associated with a centrosymmetric and an anti-chiral buckling pattern.

Type Synthesis Principle and Practice of Flexure Systems in the Framework of Screw Theory: Part III—Numerations and Synthesis of Flexure Mechanisms

In recent years, the increasing of application requirements call for development of a variety of flexure mechanisms with high precision or large motion and both. Therefore, in Part III of this series of papers we demonstrate how to use the methodology addressed in Part I to synthesize concepts for two kinds of flexure mechanisms, i.e. kinematics-type flexure mechanisms (KFMs) and constraint-type flexure mechanisms (CFMs) with the specified-DOF (Degree of Freedom) characteristics. Although most of them utilize parallel configurations and flexure elements, there is a clear difference in the behavior of flexures between KFMs and CFMs, The resultant type synthesis approaches fall into two distinct categories i.e. freedom-based and constraint-based one, both of which have presented in Part I. In order to derive useful flexure mechanism concepts available for different applications, a general design philosophy and rules are summarized firstly. As the main content of this part, the classifications, numerations, and synthesis for KFMs and CFMs are made in a systematic way. As a result, a majority of new precision flexure mechanisms are developed. In addition, qualitative comparisons are provided to demonstrate the performance and application differences between kinematic-type and constraint-type flexure mechanisms with the same DOF.Copyright

Synthesis and analysis of soft parallel robots comprised of active constraints

In this paper, we introduce a new type of spatial parallel robot that is comprised of soft inflatable constraints called trichamber actuators (TCAs). We extend the principles of the freedom and constraint topologies (FACT) synthesis approach to enable the synthesis and analysis of this new type of soft robot. The concepts of passive and active freedom spaces are introduced and applied to the design of general parallel systems that consist of active constraints (i.e., constraint that can be actuated to impart various loads onto the systems stage) that both drive desired motions and guide the systems desired degrees of freedom (DOFs). We provide the fabrication details of the TCA constraints introduced in this paper and experimentally determine their appropriate FACT-based constraint model. We fabricate a soft parallel robot that consists of three TCA constraints and verify and validate its FACT-predicted performance using finite element analysis (FEA) and experimental data. Other such soft robots are synthesized using FACT as case studies.

Scanning holographic optical tweezers

The aim of this Letter is to introduce a new optical tweezers approach, called scanning holographic optical tweezers (SHOT), which drastically increases the working area (WA) of the holographic-optical tweezers (HOT) approach, while maintaining tightly focused laser traps. A 12-fold increase in the WA is demonstrated. The SHOT approach achieves its utility by combining the large WA of the scanning optical tweezers (SOT) approach with the flexibility of the HOT approach for simultaneously moving differently structured optical traps in and out of the focal plane. This Letter also demonstrates a new heuristic control algorithm for combining the functionality of the SOT and HOT approaches to efficiently allocate the available laser power among a large number of traps. The proposed approach shows promise for substantially increasing the number of particles that can be handled simultaneously, which would enable optical tweezers additive fabrication technologies to rapidly assemble microgranular materials and structures in reasonable build times.

A Visualization Approach for Analyzing and Synthesizing Serial Flexure Elements

In this paper, we extend the principles of the freedom and constraint topologies (FACT) synthesis approach such that designers can analyze and synthesize serial flexure elements—not to be confused with serial flexure systems. Unlike serial systems, serial elements do not possess intermediate rigid bodies within their geometry and thus avoid the negative effects of unnecessary mass and underconstrained bodies that generate uncontrolled vibrations. Furthermore, in comparison with other common parallel flexure elements such as wire, blade, and living hinge flexures, serial elements can be used within flexure systems to achieve (i) a larger variety of kinematics, (ii) more dynamic and elastomechanic versatility, and (iii) greater ranges of motion. Here, we utilize the principles of FACT to intuitively guide designers in visualizing a multiplicity of serial flexure element geometries that can achieve any desired set of degrees of freedom (DOFs). Using this approach, designers can rapidly generate a host of new serial flexure elements for synthesizing advanced flexure systems. Thirty seven serial flexure elements are provided as examples, and three flexure systems that consist of some of these elements are synthesized as case studies.