Physical experimentation and actuated wheel design for granular locomotion using Resistive Force Theory

Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2016.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Motley, David Carrington
Other Authors: Ken Kamrin.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105686
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author Motley, David Carrington
author2 Ken Kamrin.
author_facet Ken Kamrin.
Motley, David Carrington
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description Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2016.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1056862019-04-12T17:40:27Z Physical experimentation and actuated wheel design for granular locomotion using Resistive Force Theory Motley, David Carrington Ken Kamrin. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineering. Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2016. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (page 73). Physical experiments were conducted using 3D printed wheels and a sand testing bed to explore the applications and predictive power of the Resistive Force Theory (RFT), an empirical model based on linear superposition designed to predict the interactive forces between solid bodies and granular media. Four-spoke wheel designs, made of four treads with a hinge halfway down each tread set to a prescribed angle 0, and cylindrical wheels were used to validate a scaling law determined from RFT. The 3D printed wheels were attached to an experimental test rig that consisted of a motor fixed to a carriage free to move horizontally and vertically. Data was gathered through a series of horizontal, vertical, and angular position sensors and a set of force and torque sensors, then processed with a MATLAB script and determined to validate the RFT scaling law. Next, the design of an actuated wheel capable of altering its shaped while in motion was explored. RFT predicts that as motion conditions of the wheel change, a corresponding change in the shape of the wheel would lead to an improvement in the wheel's performance. In order to properly analyze the effect of the change of shape of the wheel, the actuated wheel was designed to first only change shape in the in-plane dimension, and second be sufficiently rigid such that it does not exhibit excessive deformation in the new shape while under load. Several designs were explored, and the final form of the "FrankenWheel" is designed with a series of five flaps that rotate to fixed angles using a system of gears, hinges, and a secondary motor. This version of the "FrankenWheel" has been assembled for testing. by David Carrington Motley. S.B. 2016-12-05T19:58:01Z 2016-12-05T19:58:01Z 2016 2016 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105686 964450775 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 73 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Mechanical Engineering.
Motley, David Carrington
Physical experimentation and actuated wheel design for granular locomotion using Resistive Force Theory
title Physical experimentation and actuated wheel design for granular locomotion using Resistive Force Theory
title_full Physical experimentation and actuated wheel design for granular locomotion using Resistive Force Theory
title_fullStr Physical experimentation and actuated wheel design for granular locomotion using Resistive Force Theory
title_full_unstemmed Physical experimentation and actuated wheel design for granular locomotion using Resistive Force Theory
title_short Physical experimentation and actuated wheel design for granular locomotion using Resistive Force Theory
title_sort physical experimentation and actuated wheel design for granular locomotion using resistive force theory
topic Mechanical Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105686
work_keys_str_mv AT motleydavidcarrington physicalexperimentationandactuatedwheeldesignforgranularlocomotionusingresistiveforcetheory