Forward and inverse analyses of smart compliant mechanisms for path generation

In this paper, an open loop compliant mechanism consisting of two elastic links actuated through piezoelectric actuators has been analyzed. The links may be joined through rigid or elastic hinge connection. The effect of piezoelectric actuators placed on an elastic beam is considered as two concentrated self-balancing moments acting on the beam at the edges of the actuator. Considering the large deflection of the two links of the mechanism under these self-balancing moments as well as end loads, the forward and inverse analyses of the mechanism are carried out. Two numerical schemes, namely, non-linear shooting (NLS) and Adomian decomposition methods (ADM) have been used for solving these problems. Numerical results are included to demonstrate the potential of the proposed methods.