Research of resistance forces in the contact zone between the seal and the floor of a mobile robotic air cushion platform

Abstract

Traditionally mobile robotic platforms are used in modern production facilities when performing transport operations, as well as in the process of assembling the finished product. With the increase in the load capacity of such platforms, the cost of their operation increases. But the use of an air cushion as a payload mass compensation system can increase their energy efficiency and reduce the cost of their operation. As a result, the scope of their possible application increases significantly. The article presents the main tasks that can be solved with the help of mobile robotic platforms on an air cushion in the complex automation of production. The use of an air cushion increases the energy efficiency of the transport system, which is a very urgent task. The design of the layout of such a platform is presented. The emphasis is placed on the importance of using a pressure seal, which allows achieving virtually zero clearance between it and the floor. A possible arrangement of such an air cushion sealing unit is shown. The computational model of this node built for finite element modeling in the ANSYS Workbench environment is presented. The main calculation cases that occur at various stages of the functioning of a mobile robotic air cushion platform are listed. The deformations of the seal for these cases are shown and the values of the normal force occurring in the contact zone of the seal and the floor for each of them are determined. The contact area of the seal and the floor in each case is also indicated. The dependences reflecting the change in the normal force of the simulation process with different coefficients of friction for the seal-floor pair are constructed. The behavior of the considered compaction unit of the mobile robotic platform in the process of its movement, depending on the direction of movement, is modeled.