Design, control and planning for a crustal movement simulation system

Crustal movement simulation takes the very essential effect in the research on water cycle and related land surface processes. In this paper, a crustal movement simulation system (CMSS) is presented. The system enables researchers investigate the effects of crustal movement on rivers and lakes in the laboratory environment. The CMSS proposed consists of twelve sets of parallel mechanism supported by four serial chains with three degree of freedoms (DOFs). The kinematics analysis of the parallel mechanism with four serial chains is provided. To solve the coplanar problem of four screws, a control method based on linear interpolation with parabola transition is introduced. Surface fitting algorithm based on geometric relations is used to simulate the land surface. Experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness of the system and the methods proposed.