Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

Victor Mucino

Committee Co-Chair

Mridul Gautam

Committee Member

Wade W. Huebsch

Committee Member

Kenneth H. Means

Abstract

High Speed Deployment Mechanisms (HSDM) have become essential and indispensable for specific applications in industrial and aerospace sectors. However, the field of High Speed Deployment Mechanisms is still not completely explored in many areas; the holistic analysis of HSDM reveals a lack of information about its, classification, analysis and design considerations. A research was conducted to generate a systematic approach addressing the issues mentioned above. In the beginning of this research, a methodology is presented to perform the kinematic and dynamic analyses of a Slider-Crank Deployment Mechanism; this method is based on the Lagrange Multipliers approach. The analyses of position, velocity, acceleration and reaction forces were carried out obtaining reliable results. In addition, the results were validated with the implementation of commercial software (ANSYS(TM), ABAQUS(TM) and SOLIDWORKS(TM)). Moreover, structural, transient and modal finite element analyses were developed for components of the mechanism to study stresses, strains, deformations and natural frequencies. Also, an illustrative aerospace application and a CAD model were proposed for the studied mechanism. Finally, an important contribution in the literature of HSDM was made: a criterion to verify if the assumption of using rigid bodies in a Slider-Crank Deployment Mechanism can be adopted.

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