Rigid Body Model Research Articles

Production and characterisation of modularly deuterated UBE2D1–Ub conjugate by small angle neutron and X-ray scattering

This structural study exploits the possibility to use modular protein deuteration to facilitate the study of ubiquitin signalling, transfer, and modification. A protein conjugation reaction is used to combine protonated E2 enzyme with deuterated ubiquitin for small angle X-ray and neutron scattering with neutron contrast variation. The combined biomolecules stay as a monodisperse system during data collection in both protonated and deuterated buffers indicating long stability of the E2–Ub conjugate. With multiphase ab initio shape restoration and rigid body modelling, we reconstructed the shape of a E2–Ub-conjugated complex of UBE2D1 linked to ubiquitin via an isopeptide bond. Solution X-ray and neutron scattering data for this E2–Ub conjugate in the absence of E3 jointly indicate an ensemble of open and backbent states, with a preference for the latter in solution. The approach of combining protonated and labelled proteins can be used for solution studies to assess localization and movement of ubiquitin and could be widely applied to modular Ub systems in general.

Positive influence of neuromuscular training on knee injury risk factors during cutting and landing tasks in elite youth female handball players

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures are frequent in the age group of 15–19 years, particularly for female athletes. Although injury-prevention programs effectively reduce severe knee injuries, little is known about the underlying mechanisms and changes of biomechanical risk factors. Thus, this study analyzes the effects of a neuromuscular injury-prevention program on biomechanical parameters associated with ACL injuries in elite youth female handball players. In a nonrandomized, controlled intervention study, 19 players allocated to control (n = 12) and intervention (n = 7) group were investigated for single- and double-leg landings as well as unanticipated side-cutting maneuvers before and after a 12-week study period. The lower-extremity motion of the athletes was captured using a three-dimensional motion capture system consisting of 12 infrared cameras. A lower-body marker set of 40 markers together with a rigid body model, including a forefoot, rearfoot, shank, thigh, and pelvis segment in combination with two force plates was used to determine knee joint angles, resultant external joint moments, and vertical ground reaction forces. The two groups did not differ significantly during pretesting. Only the intervention group showed significant improvements in the initial knee abduction angle during single leg landing (p = 0.038: d = 0.518), knee flexion moment during double-leg landings (p = 0.011; d = −1.086), knee abduction moment during single (p = 0.036; d = 0.585) and double-leg landing (p = 0.006; d = 0.944) and side-cutting (p = 0.015;d = 0.561) as well as vertical ground reaction force during double-leg landing (p = 0.004; d = 1.482). Control group demonstrated no significant changes in kinematics and kinetics. However, at postintervention both groups were not significantly different in any of the biomechanical outcomes except for the normalized knee flexion moment of the dominant leg during single-leg landing. This study provides first indications that the implementation of a training intervention with specific neuromuscular exercises has positive impacts on biomechanical risk factors associated with ACL injury risk and, therefore, may help prevent severe knee injuries in elite youth female handball players.

Side-Pull Maneuver: A Novel Control Strategy for Dragging a Cable-Tethered Load of Unknown Weight Using a UAV

This work presents an approach for dealing with suspended-cable load transportation using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), specifically when the cargo overcomes the lifting capacity. Herein, this approach is referred to as the Side-Pull Maneuver (SPM). This maneuver is an alternative and viable strategy for cases where there is no impediment or restriction to dragging the load along a surface, such as with pastures or marine environments. The proposal is based on a joint observation of the thrust and altitude of the UAV. To make this possible, the high-level rigid-body dynamics model is described and represented as an underactuated system. Its altitude-rate control input is then analyzed during flight. A flight state supervisor decides whether the cargo should be carried by lifting or by side-pulling, or whether it should be labeled as non-transportable. Comparative real experiments validate the proposal according to which maneuver (lifting or dragging) is performed for transport.

Effect of rigid body motion in phase-field models of solid-state sintering

In the last two decades, many phase-field models for solid-state sintering have been published. Two groups of models have emerged, with and without the contribution of rigid body motion. This paper first describes the previously published phase-field model with an advection term driven by rigid body motion. The model is then used to investigate the differences between models with and without rigid body motion in new benchmark geometries exhibiting markedly different behavior. Sensitivity studies concerning the parameters of the rigid-body motion model are conducted and their effects on equilibrium and kinetic properties explored. In particular, it is shown by simulations that a shrinkage rate independent of system size requires the inclusion of an advection term. Finally, the reason behind this behavior is explored and implications for diffusion-only models are drawn.

Kinematics and dynamics analysis of a six-degree of freedom parallel manipulator

Modeling and analysis of inverse kinematics and dynamics for a novel parallel manipulator are established in this article. The manipulator is a spatial mechanism, which consists of six identical kinematic chains connecting to the moving platform. Firstly, screw theory is applied to compute the degree of freedom of this manipulator. Then the inverse position is achieved based on the homogeneous coordinate transformation principle while motion law of the moving platform is given. Furthermore, the first-order influence coefficient method is employed to obtain the Jacobian matrices of the considered manipulator and the links, so do the velocities. Afterward, the rigid-body dynamics model is derived from the Lagrange formulation. To obtain the integrated inverse dynamics model, an approach for simplified flexible dynamics analysis is proposed. Finally, simulations are conducted to compute the position and driving force of this considered manipulator, which validate the new method simultaneously.

Research on Cyclist Injury Based on Simulation Model of Real Electric Vehicle and Two Wheeled Vehicle Collision Accident

There are more and more traffic accidents between cars and electric two wheeled vehicles. As a vulnerable participant in traffic, it is of great significance to study the head biomechanical injury of electric two wheeled vehicle cyclists. In order to study the head injury of cyclists, by optimizing the tissue material properties and material parameters of the head finite element model, a refined head finite element model is established and verified by Nahum cadaver experiment; Based on the real traffic accident of vehicle electric two wheeled vehicle collision, a multi rigid body model of vehicle electric two wheeled vehicle is established for vehicles, electric two wheeled vehicles and cyclists, and the reliability of the collision model is verified; The head finite element model is used to analyze the changes of equivalent stress. The results show that the equivalent stress of brain tissue is gradually transmitted from both sides of brain tissue to the cerebellar region at the back of brain, and finally concentrated in cerebellum.

Research on the Efficiency of Working Status Based on Wearable Devices in Different Light Environments.

According to the working scenes, a proper light environment can enable people to maintain greater attention and meditation. A posture detection system in different working scenes is proposed in this paper, and different lighting conditions are provided for changes in body posture. This aims to stimulate the nervous system and improve work efficiency. A brainwave acquisition system was used to capture the participants’ optimal attention and meditation. The posture data are collected by ten miniature inertial measurement units (IMUs). The gradient descent method is used for information fusion and updating the participant’s attitude after sensor calibration. Compared with the optical capture system, the reliability of the system is verified, and the correlation coefficient of both joint angles is as high as 0.9983. A human rigid body model is designed for reconstructing the human posture. Five classical machine learning algorithms, including logistic regression, support vector machine (SVM), decision tree, random forest, and k-nearest neighbor (KNN), are used as classification algorithms to recognize different postures based on joint angles series. The results show that SVM and random forest achieve satisfactory classification effects. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated in the designed systematic experiment.

Dynamics, stability, and control of a four-cable mount system for wind tunnel test

A four-cable mount system is proposed for full-model wind tunnel flutter tests, which may adjust the pitch and roll attitude of the aircraft scaled model and ensure that the model is not subjected to cable tension. The system provides sufficient support to simulate the free flight of the aircraft by applying appropriate spring stiffness and cable tensions. The proposed four-cable mount system is modeled based on Lagrange mechanics, and its dynamics equations consider aerodynamic effects. The singularity of the system and its bifurcation characteristics under flow conditions are analysed to determine the supercritical bifurcation phenomenon for different tension levels and distances from the front suspension point to the mass centre of the model. The mathematical expressions of the longitudinal flight stability of the cable mount system are derived by linearising the system dynamics equations using small perturbations. The influence of the cable tension, spring stiffness, suspension point position, and other factors on the flight stability of the aircraft are analysed. A feedforward control algorithm is proposed to minimize the total elastic potential energy of the system. The results show that the model is in the level flight state when the elastic potential energy of the four-cable mount system is minimized. A feedback control design method is proposed based on the Lyapunov stability theory to derive the closed-loop stability conditions. The system dynamics model that includes the aircraft rigid body model, flexible cables, pulleys, springs, aerodynamic model, and servo motor control is established using the flexible multibody dynamics method. A multibody dynamics solver and Simulink are used to simulate the attitude adjustment of the model in the wind tunnel and verify the supercritical bifurcation characteristics of the system and the effectiveness of the feedback and feedforward control.

Pseudo rigid body model for a nonlinear folding compliant mechanism

Folding compliant mechanisms have the potential to be used for innovative designs tailored for specific applications such as energy absorption, shape morphing, or stress relief. This tailorability relies on multiple variables that define the geometric and material behavior. The combined effort of the geometric and material nonlinearity can emphasize certain features in the design that, individually, would not be possible. Folding as a concept is very important in origami engineering and requires careful choice in the design variables when it comes to dimensions and material properties. Finite element analyses for folding at the level of a unit cell, as well as the overall structural design, can be cumbersome and computationally expensive. Therefore, in this work, a segmented pseudo rigid body model that captures a high level of flexibility is developed for both a superelastic material, which is characterized using a shape memory alloy, and a hyperelastic, rubber-like material. By increasing the number of segments, the model allows the structure to undergo large deformations. The results from the segmented model are compared with FEA for the folding compliant mechanism. 3D-printing and experimental testing of the compliant mechanism is also explored.

All 3D printed ready-to-use flexible electroadhesion pads

Electroadhesion is a promising adhesion mechanism widely employed in robotics with advantages including enhanced adaptability, gentle/flexible handling, reduced complexity, and ultralow energy consumption. Currently, all electroadhesion pads are manually fabricated, which limits their applications. In contrast, new, easy-to-implement, cost-effective, and entirely 3D printed flexible electroadhesion pads made of both non-conductive polylactide and graphene conductive polylactide are presented in this paper. Moreover, their statics model for geometric dimensions and flexibility is established via the pseudo rigid body model. Then, normal electroadhesion force measurements and electrostatic simulation of the flexible electroadhesive pads are conducted. Finally, a 3D printed curvature adjustable gripper based on flexible electroadhesive pads that can actively grasp flat, concave, and convex objects is presented. These FEPs are expected to widen the preparation technology and increase the use of electroadhesion in soft robots application.

Affine body dynamics

Simulating stiff materials in applications where deformations are either not significant or else can safely be ignored is a fundamental task across fields. Rigid body modeling has thus long remained a critical tool and is, by far, the most popular simulation strategy currently employed for modeling stiff solids. At the same time, rigid body methods continue to pose a number of well known challenges and trade-offs including intersections, instabilities, inaccuracies, and/or slow performances that grow with contact-problem complexity. In this paper we revisit the stiff body problem and present ABD, a simple and highly effective affine body dynamics framework, which significantly improves state-of-the-art for simulating stiff-body dynamics. We trace the challenges in rigid-body methods to the necessity of linearizing piecewise-rigid trajectories and subsequent constraints. ABD instead relaxes the unnecessary (and unrealistic) constraint that each body's motion be exactly rigid with a stiff orthogonality potential, while preserving the rigid body model's key feature of a small coordinate representation. In doing so ABD replaces piecewise linearization with piecewise linear trajectories. This, in turn, combines the best of both worlds: compact coordinates ensure small, sparse system solves, while piecewise-linear trajectories enable efficient and accurate constraint (contact and joint) evaluations. Beginning with this simple foundation, ABD preserves all guarantees of the underlying IPC model we build it upon, e.g., solution convergence, guaranteed non-intersection, and accurate frictional contact. Over a wide range and scale of simulation problems we demonstrate that ABD brings orders of magnitude performance gains (two- to three-orders on the CPU and an order more when utilizing the GPU, obtaining 10, 000× speedups) over prior IPC-based methods, while maintaining simulation quality and nonintersection of trajectories. At the same time ABD has comparable or faster timings when compared to state-of-the-art rigid body libraries optimized for performance without guarantees, and successfully and efficiently solves challenging simulation problems where both classes of prior rigid body simulation methods fail altogether.

Modeling and validation of three‐dimensional sliding‐rocking rigid block subjected to earthquake excitation

AbstractA freestanding rigid block subjected to earthquake excitation is a problem of significant interest to the earthquake engineering community because it has many direct applications in the seismic performance evaluation of both structural and non‐structural components. Previous studies on this classical problem usually assume planar rocking is the only motion that can be activated. However, this is clearly not true when friction coefficient is not sufficiently large or the earthquake excitation is bi‐directional. To address this knowledge gap, this paper presents a three‐dimensional sliding‐rocking rigid body model suitable for dynamic analysis. Important aspects for this model, which include the formulation of nonlinear equations of motion, transitional criteria for different motion modes, as well as the approach to handle the impact, are described. Validation of the proposed model consists of two parts. The first part is the comparison with the numerical prediction from a different model available in the literature. The second part is the comparison with the experimental study from a series of shake table tests using vision‐based measurement. These comparisons suggest the proposed model provide relatively good accuracy. Finally, a case study of overturning probability of a non‐structural component shows that using a three‐dimensional modeling approach can give substantially different result compared to a two‐dimensional rocking model, which highlights the necessity of adopting such model.

Toward a Data-Driven Template Model for Quadrupedal Locomotion

This work investigates a data-driven template model for trajectory planning of dynamic quadrupedal robots. Many state-of-the-art approaches involve using a reduced-order model, primarily due to computational tractability. The spirit of the trajectory planning approach in this work draws on recent advancements in the area of behavioral systems theory. Here, we aim to capitalize on the knowledge of well-known template models to construct a data-driven model, enabling us to obtain an information rich reduced-order model. In particular, this work considers input-output states similar to that of the single rigid body model and proceeds to develop a data-driven representation of the system, which is then used in a predictive control framework to plan a trajectory for quadrupeds. The optimal trajectory is passed to a low-level and nonlinear model-based controller to be tracked. Preliminary experimental results are provided to establish the efficacy of this hierarchical control approach for trotting and walking gaits of a high-dimensional quadrupedal robot on unknown terrains and in the presence of disturbances.

Statistical Quantification of the Effects of Marker Misplacement and Soft-Tissue Artifact on Shoulder Kinematics and Kinetics.

The assessment of shoulder kinematics and kinetics are commonly undertaken biomechanically and clinically by using rigid-body models and experimental skin-marker trajectories. However, the accuracy of these trajectories is plagued by inherent skin-based marker errors due to marker misplacements (offset) and soft-tissue artifacts (STA). This paper aimed to assess the individual contribution of each of these errors to kinematic and kinetic shoulder outcomes computed using a shoulder rigid-body model. Baseline experimental data of three shoulder planar motions in a young healthy adult were collected. The baseline marker trajectories were then perturbed by simulating typically observed population-based offset and/or STA using a probabilistic Monte-Carlo approach. The perturbed trajectories were then used together with a shoulder rigid-body model to compute shoulder angles and moments and study their accuracy and variability against baseline. Each type of error was studied individually, as well as in combination. On average, shoulder kinematics varied by 3%, 6% and 7% due to offset, STA or combined errors, respectively. Shoulder kinetics varied by 11%, 27% and 28% due to offset, STA or combined errors, respectively. In conclusion, to reduce shoulder kinematic and kinetic errors, one should prioritise reducing STA as they have the largest error contribution compared to marker misplacements.

Dynamic penetration behaviors of single/multi-layer graphene using nanoprojectile under hypervelocity impact.

Single/multilayer graphene holds great promise in withstanding impact/penetration as ideal protective material. In this work, dynamic penetration behaviors of graphene has been explored using molecular dynamics simulations. The crashworthiness performance of graphene is contingent upon the number of layers and impact velocity. The variables including residual velocity and kinetic energy loss under different layers or different impact velocities have been monitored during the hypervelocity impact. Results show that there exists deviation from the continuum Recht–Ipson and Rosenberg–Dekel models, but these models tend to hold to reasonably predict the ballistic limit velocity of graphene with increasing layers. Besides, fractal theory has been introduced here and proven valid to quantitatively describe the fracture morphology. Furthermore, Forrestal–Warren rigid body model II still can well estimate the depth of penetration of multilayer graphene under a certain range of velocity impact. Finally, one modified model has been proposed to correlate the specific penetration energy with the number of layer and impact velocity.

Study of a passive pitching rotor using blade element momentum theory coupled to a rigid-body model

Misaligned wind turbine rotors experience uneven loads because of two effects: dissymmetry of lift, and skewed wake effect. Rotor-crafts that have a similar problem introduce various mechanisms to combat this — one of them is to add a δ3-hinge. The hinge provides the blade with an additional degree of freedom to relieve the unbalanced loads; in theory, it is a self-correcting mechanism. In this work, we couple a blade element momentum (BEM) approach for the aerodynamics to a rigid-body model that simulates the hinge rotation. The results from BEM are used to identify the working mechanisms of the hinged rotor and highlight the strengths and weaknesses of such a rotor.

Dynamic Behavior of the Inertial Platform Related to the Research Facility Building Laser and Gamma at ELI-NP Bucharest

This paper aims to study the vibration of the large inertial platform from the Laser + Gamma building that is part of the ELI-NP project. In order to ensure a precisely positioned radiation beam, it is necessary that the shocks and vibrations coming from the external environment are damped or absorbed until they reach the work installations. This is ensured by the platform on which the devices are positioned, a platform that is supported on spring batteries and shock absorbers. A rigid body model is developed in this regard and a comparison with the finite element model of the concrete platform is conducted. It has been found that low vibration modes can be obtained with the help of the rigid model, which also has the advantage of simplicity and very little time is required to obtain results.

Modeling and control of a class of urban air mobility tiltrotor aircraft

This paper aims at developing a control-centric analytical formulation for aeromechanics and flight dynamics of urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles. Such vehicles feature a hybrid configuration with tiltrotors and fixed wings, enabling vertical takeoff/landing capability while attaining level flight range and endurance. A comprehensive nonlinear rigid-body dynamic model is developed by incorporating multiple tiltrotor dynamics and their gyroscopic and inertial coupling effects. A quasi-steady aerodynamic formulation is used to derive the aerodynamic loads on all lifting surfaces. In addition to the conventional control surfaces of the fixed-wing aircraft, the tiltrotor angular positions and rotational speeds are also considered additional control inputs in the derivation of nonlinear flight dynamic equations. These nonlinear equations are then linearized with respect to a set of trimmed conditions to generate the corresponding linear time-invariant state-space models, which are best suited for flight control design. In particular, to capture the critical dynamical behaviors during the transition from vertical to forward flight, the linear models are attained at various angular positions of the tiltrotors. These linear models are then utilized to develop a linear parameter-varying (LPV) model in which the tiltrotor angular position is considered the scheduling parameter. Subsequently, the adaptive model predictive control (MPC) methodology is used to design the flight controllers to achieve a stable and smooth transition flight. The numerical simulations demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed modeling and control approach.

The Effects of Wobbling Mass Components on Joint Dynamics During Running.

Soft tissue moves relative to the underlying bone during locomotion. Research has shown that soft tissue motion has an effect on aspects of the dynamics of running; however, little is known about the effects of soft tissue motion on the joint kinetics. In the present study, for a single subject, soft tissue motion was modeled using wobbling components in an inverse dynamics analysis to access the effects of the soft tissue on joint kinetics at the knee and hip. The added wobbling components had little effect on the knee joint kinetics, but large effects on the hip joint kinetics. In particular, the hip joint power and net negative and net positive mechanical work at the hip was greatly underestimated when calculated with the model without wobbling components compared with that of the model with wobbling components. For example, for low-frequency wobbling conditions, the magnitude of the peak hip joint moments were 50% greater when computed accounting the wobbling masses compared with a rigid body model, while for high-frequency wobbling conditions, the peaks were within 15%. The present study suggests that soft tissue motion should not be ignored during inverse dynamics analyses of running.

Backward Double Integration is a Valid Method to Calculate Maximal and Sub-Maximal Jump Height

ABSTRACT The backward double integration method uses one force plate and could calculate jump height for countermovement jumping, squat jumping and drop jumping by analysing the landing phase instead of the push-off phase. This study compared the accuracy and variability of the forward double integration (FDI), backwards double integration (BDI) and Flight Time + Constant (FT+C) methods, against the marker-based rigid-body modelling method. It was hypothesised that the jump height calculated using the BDI method would be equivalent to the FDI method, while the FT+C method would have reduced accuracy and increased variability during sub-maximal jumping compared to maximal jumping. Twenty-four volunteers performed five maximal and five sub-maximal countermovement jumps, while force plate and motion capture data were collected. The BDI method calculated equivalent mean jump heights compared to the FDI method, with only slightly higher variability (2–3 mm), and therefore can be used in situations where FDI cannot be employed. The FT+C method was able to account for reduced heel-lift distance, despite employing an anthropometrically scaled heel-lift constant. However, across both sub-maximal and maximal jumping, it had increased variability (1.1 cm) compared to FDI and BDI and should not be used when alternate methods are available.