Helical structures with switchable and hierarchical chirality

Chirality is present as a trend of research in biological and chemical communities for it has a significant effect on physiological properties and pharmacological effects. Further, manipulating specific morphological chirality recently has emerged as a promising approach to design metamaterials with tailored mechanical, optical, or electromagnetic properties. However, the realization of many properties found in nature, such as switchable and hierarchical chirality, which allows electromagnetic control of the polarization of light and enhancement of mechanical properties, in man-made structures has remained a challenge. Here, we present helical structures with switchable and hierarchical chirality inspired by origami techniques. We propose eggbox-based chiral units for constructing homogeneous and heterogeneous chiral structures and demonstrate a theoretical approach for tuning the chirality of these structures by modulating their geometrical parameters and for achieving chirality switching through mechanism bifurcation. Finally, by introducing a helical tessellation between the chiral units, we design hierarchical structures with chirality transferring from construction elements to the morphological level and discover a helix with two zero-height configurations during the unwinding process. We anticipate that our design and analysis approach could facilitate the development of man-made metamaterials with chiral features, which may serve in engineering applications, including switchable electromagnetic metamaterials, morphing structures, and bionic robots. (C) 2020 Author(s).

Very high-speed slotless permanent-magnet motors

Pierre-Daniel Pfister

The development of very high-speed motors has evolved fascinatingly in the last few years. Due to their speed, their low weight and their high power density, the need for such motors has recently increased for various different applications. Among them, superchargers or turbochargers can be cited in the automotive industry, as well as vacuum cleaners in the home appliance industry, machine tools or drilling machines in the machining industry. However, the development of very high-speed motors remains a big challenge. Indeed because of the high mechanical stress in the rotor and the high power density, a precise understanding of the electromagnetic, mechanic and electrical behavior becomes crucial. In order to gain as much understanding of the problem as possible, this thesis is entirely focused on analytical approaches and the results are validated with finite element methods, as well as measurements on a prototype with 200'000 rpm and 2 kW of target of speed and output power. Due to its high efficiency, a slotless structure was chosen and all the present work relates to this type of motor. This thesis can be divided in three parts. The first part deals with the design of the different analytical models (electromagnetical, aerodynamical and mechanical). The electromagnetic model is based on the vector potential generalized diffusion equation which allows a much more precise calculation of the fields than the widely used equivalent Kirchhoff circuit approach. The electromagnetic torque, the self and mutual inductances and the eddy current power losses are deduced. These different calculated quantities are in excellent agreement with finite element methods. A model of eddy current power losses in the windings is also given. The main contributions of the electromagnetic model are the following. The magnetic vector potential is given analytically in a structure of any number of concentric cylindrical layers. It is useful for other structures than slotless permanent-magnet motors such as, for example, eddy current brakes. Moreover, the power losses in the rotor are given explicitly in term of the vector potential harmonics in the air gap. Furthermore, the power losses can be calculated explicitly in permanent magnets with various magnetization harmonic contents. The other aspects of the multiphysics model are also modeled analytically: the aerodynamic power losses, the bearing power losses and the mechanical stresses in the rotor. Furthermore, an electrical model of the currents is given. It includes both 120° and 180° inverter commutation sequences. The second part deals with the optimization using the model for obtaining a design. As the model is analytical, the optimization process is very fast. It also allows to draw Pareto frontiers. The final part deals with the construction of a prototype, the design of measurements techniques compatible with very high speeds and the validation of the different models. Not only does this part validates the models, but it also shows that the designed prototype is able to exceed the speed target of 200'000 rpm and output power target of 2 kW.

EPFL2010

Modeling and Simulation of Energy Efficient Milling Process Plans for Prismatic Parts

Nenad Nesic

The milling process has been continuously optimized from many aspects: forces, velocities, stability, quality. Numerous papers have been published that report results in the domain of toolpath optimization with criteria such as raising the quality of the machined part, obtaining a stable machining process and maximizing the material removal rate. However, only recently researchers have started investigating the ecological impact of machining processes. With the constantly increasing prices of electrical energy and all environmental problems caused by the production and waste of the energy, it has become indispensable to look for ways to optimize machining processes from the energy consumption aspect, too. It is in this domain, then, that the work described in this dissertation contributes – to add a new criterion for the sustainable operation of machine tools: reducing the energy consumption during the use phase of the machine tool. The total energy spent in a machining process is the sum of power spent by all machine tool subsystems multiplied by the time that they are working. Therefore, the operating strategies for increasing energy efficiency for the high-speed machining processes must be oriented towards the reduction of the total machining time (productive and unproductive) and reduction of instantaneous consumed power in the machining process or, preferably, both. There are many causes for milling process time and energy inefficiency. The major sources of potential time reductions include: (i) the issues related to the geometry and topology of the toolpath („air-time”, overlapping segments, gouge and uncut regions, orientation of the toolpath), (ii) the issues related to the kinematics of the feed drives (the feed velocity/acceleration profile). The possible domains for power consumption reduction are related to the forces that exist in the machining process (cutting, inertial, gravitational and friction forces). The power invested to overcome the cutting force is necessary for the machining process but its consumption should be optimized through constant cutting engagement and feedrate scheduling strategies. The other forces are responsible for the pure mechanical power loss and they should be minimized. The optimization variables for inertial and gravitational forces include the feed motion profile and moving mass configuration, while friction losses are load and/or velocity dependent. In addition, there are some power losses in the electric components of machine tool drives (electrical power losses), whose dependency on velocity and mechanical load can also be modeled. Despite many research efforts to analyze and model the phenomena causing inefficiency of the machining process, they are usually not taken into account during milling process planning. In fact, rare are the attempts to use this knowledge to optimize the milling process with more than one of the above mentioned criteria. The reason for that lies in the fact that increasing the instantaneous values of tool engagement and feedrate in order to minimize total machining time also increases the consumed power and, indirectly, deteriorates the tool and/or destabilizes the cutting process. The existence of conflicting criteria in the objective functions imposes the use of evolutionary algorithms for multiobjective optimization. The process of experimental validation of such an optimization model requires costly and complex external hardware setup and it is also time consuming. Hence, there is an emerging need for the development of an accurate model, which would be used for the simulation of the milling process and testing the competing optimization strategies. The ultimate goal of contemporary manufacturing science and engineering is the development of a holistic virtual machine tool system. The motivation of this PhD research is to contribute to this objective by developing the “virtual milling process for prismatic parts (produced by 2.5D milling)”. This category of objects is selected, because the majority of CNC milling tasks can be performed using 2.5D milling. A very large number of mechanical parts are prismatic (their geometry consists exclusively of features that represent 2D contours extruded in a perpendicular direction). Parts that are even more complex are usually produced from a blank by a 2.5D roughing and 3D–5D finishing. Therefore, development of an accurate model of a 2.5D milling process represents a significant contribution to manufacturing engineering. Starting with above given problem description, we have defined the following research objectives: 1. Model power and energy consumption of a 2.5D milling machine as a function of the toolpath geometry (curvature and continuity), cutting engagement, real feedrate profiles and spindle rotational speed, taking into account moving mass configuration, all power losses (mechanical and electrical) in feed-axis and spindle drives and electromechanical constraints of servo drives; 2. Design an integrated software environment for simulation of the developed models; 3. Validate the model experimentally; 4. Demonstrate the potential of its use for multi-objective process optimization. Cutting engagement calculation is performed by using two competing methodologies, in order to make a comparison of their performances. The first one, the pixel based method, is based on discrete image processing, while the other, the exact method, is based on Boolean operations and vector geometry. The tests performed in more than 20 feature/toolpath combinations demonstrate that the exact method is more precise whereas the pixel-based method is computationally much faster. The machine tool operator commands a constant feedrate value. During the process, based on his/her subjective judgment, he/she can manually tune it to keep the process in the desired boundaries. One of the objectives of this research is to predict the real feedrate values so that they can be integrated in the part program before the process start. The feasible profiles of feed velocities for each toolpath segment are analyzed by answering the following questions: can the commanded feedrate be achieved and with what sequence of acceleration and deceleration phases, how much the tool has to slow down in corners and how does the feedrate profile degenerate in segments where the commanded feedrate cannot be reached? In order to determine all forces and torques, a machine tool model is developed. The following subsystems are modeled as rigid bodies (without vibrations): feed motor shaft, transmission, lead screw/nut pair, lead screw bearings, guides (sliding and rolling design), table with the workpiece and electrospindle (rotor, stator and bearings). All kinetic variables (linear and angular speeds; cutting, inertial and friction forces and torques) are then calculated in the joints of this multi-body system. The modeling of all speeds, forces and torques that occur in the machine tool system during the machining process, allows for calculation of various indicators of process time and energy efficiency: material removal rate, total machining time, useful power (invested in cutting), power loss due to the friction in the joints, power losses in electrical motors, electrical energy consumption of feed and spindle drives. In order to assess the accuracy and the reliability of the developed model two sets of experiments have been performed. The model validation is performed on several subsystem levels and the simulation results show a very good compliance with the experimental results. The first experimental setup consists of the force dynamometer, to measure cutting force components in linear axis directions, two laser optical position sensors, to measure the real feedrate and the power sensor, to measure the total power consumption of the machine tool electrical motors. The machining process was performed on the 6-axis machining center C.B. Ferrari A152 and the data acquisition platform was developed in LabVIEW 2010. The second experimental setup consists of the torque dynamometer, to measure the cutting torque directly on the spindle, the built-in current sensor that measures the motor current proportional to the electrical power consumed by the spindle and, again, the power sensor, to measure the total power consumption of the machine tool electrical motors. This time, MIKRON HPM 600U, a 5-axis milling machine equipped with the controller iTNC530, was used for the experimentation. The developed model is ready for practical implementation. Several examples have been prepared to demonstrate its capabilities in the domains of milling process simulation, sensitivity analysis and prospective optimization strategies. These examples include the prediction of various kinetostatic variables for given toolpaths, choice of the optimum machining strategy (minimization of machining time, moving mass and energy consumption) and process optimization by feedrate scheduling (reduction of cutting force fluctuation). As a conclusion, the major contribution of this PhD research is the development of a comprehensive rigid-body dynamics model of a machine tool system, aimed for the generation, simulation and optimization of 21⁄2D milling process plans. The model features several novelties compared to existing approaches: (i) it takes into account the machine tool rigid body dynamics and real tool kinematics in toolpath planning, (ii) it predicts all mechanical and electrical power losses in the machine tool system (iii) it allows the modeling of machine tool system electromechanical constraints. The model was experimentally validated on two real machine tools in different workshops and its capabilities for the simulation of different toolpath patterns and optimization of process parameters were successfully demonstrated using several examples.

EPFL2012

Modeling and Simulation of Energy Efficient Milling Process Plans for Prismatic Parts

Nenad Nesic

EPFL2012

Very high-speed slotless permanent-magnet motors

Pierre-Daniel Pfister

EPFL2010