Design and analysis of redundant electro-hydraulic-driven manipulator for tokamak vacuum vessel

Abstract

Remote handling (RH), as one of the key technologies for fusion reactors in the future, has been the focus of research by researchers. This paper presents the design and analysis of a redundant manipulator with 10° of freedom (DOF) intended for use in vacuum vessel of the Tokamak. With a span of 3.15 m and a payload of 10 kg, the manipulator is powered by a combination of hydraulics and motors. The manipulator is mainly composed of the macro-operating arm, the micro-operating arm, and an end-effector, each serving its specific functions. This paper introduces and discusses the roles and capabilities of these components in the manipulation process. The finite element analysis (FEA) of the manipulator's structure reveals that the maximum stress of the structure is significantly lower than the permissible stress of the material Aluminium alloy 2A14. By utilizing the modified Denavit-Hartenberg (DH) method, the kinematic model was created, the forward kinematic matrix was established, and the workspace was analysed accordingly. The inverse kinematics solution was elaborated by the combination of geometric and numerical solutions. Given velocity and acceleration of the joints and the mass of the links, the force and torque of each joint were computed by the inward iterations method based on the Newton-Euler equation, and the rationality of the results was verified by ADAMS simulation. The results indicate that the manipulator, with sufficient strength and appropriate kinematic and dynamic properties, can fulfill the design objective and functional requirements.