2.S793: Design of Compliant Mechanisms, Machines and Systems

Fall | Undergrad/Graduate | 12 Units | Prereq: 2.001, 2.003,2.670,2.007 Coreq: 2.086

Design, modeling and integration of compliance into systems that enable performance which is impractical to obtain via rigid mechanisms. Students learn multiple strategies (pseudo-rigid body modeling, topology synthesis, freedom and constraint topology) to engineer high-performance compliant mechanisms for modern biological and mechanical systems. Emphasis is placed upon the use of first principles to optimize planar and spatial kinematics, stiffness, energy storage/release, load capacity, efficiency and integration with biochemical and mechanical actuation/sensing. Students apply the preceding to synthesize concepts, optimize them via computational models and adaptive algorithms, and test prototype(s) for problem sets and a term project.  Problem sets and projects are drawn from biological systems, prosthetics, energy harvesting, precision instrumentation, robotics, space-based systems and others.