一种压电驱动的三足爬行机器人

机器人领域涉及到力学、机械、材料、控制、电子和计算机等多个学科. 其中, 爬行机器人可在极端环境下工作, 进而可有效降低人工作业的危险性并提高工作效率. 因此, 爬行机器人一直是机器人领域的重点研究对象. 压电陶瓷是一种能够将机械能和电能互相转换的新型功能陶瓷材料. 逆压电效应是指当在电介质的极化方向施加电场, 这些电介质就在一定方向上产生机械变形或机械压力, 当外加电场撤去时, 这些变形或应力也随之消失. 本文基于压电陶瓷的逆压电效应设计了一种由3条弯曲变截面梁支撑的一体化三足爬行机器人. 利用理论力学方法对该三足爬行机器人建立整体受力分析方程, 再用哈密顿原理对变截面、变角度梁建立动力学方程, 最终得到了可求解该三足爬行机器人的压电驱动腿固有频率的方程. 设计并制作了三足爬行机器人实物, 通过实验测试了不同弯折角度、不同驱动频率、不同负载、不同电压波形对运动方向及运动速度的影响. 最后利用不对称的驱动电压使三足爬行机器人实现了左转、右转以及不加导轨的近似直线运动, 实现了设计的3个方向的运动, 最后分析了该机器人的能耗问题. 该研究可为微型爬行机器人设计和实验提供参考依据.      

Parametric modeling of steady-state gradient coil vibration: Resonance dynamics under variations in cylinder geometry

Gradient coil (GC) vibration is the root cause of many problems in MRI adversely affecting scanner performance, image quality, and acoustic noise levels. A critical issue is that GC vibration will be significantly increased close to any GC mechanical resonances. It is well known that altering the dimensions of a GC fundamentally affects the mechanical resonances excited by the GC windings. The precise nature of the effects (i.e., how the resonances are affected) is however not well understood. The purpose of the present paper is to study how the mechanical resonances excited by closed whole-body Z-gradient coils are affected by variations in cylinder geometry. A mathematical Z-gradient coil vibration model recently developed and validated by the authors is used to theoretically study the resonance dynamics under variation(s) in cylinder: (i) length, (ii) mean radius, and (iii) radial thickness. The forced-vibration response to Lorentz-force excitation is in each case analyzed in terms of the frequency response of the GC cylinder's displacement. In cases (i) and (ii), the qualitative dynamics are simple: reducing the cylinder length and/or mean radius causes all mechanical resonances to shift to higher frequencies. In case (iii), the qualitative dynamics are much more complicated with different resonances shifting in different directions and additional dependencies on the cylinder length. The more detailed dynamics are intricate owing to the fact that resonances shift at comparatively different rates and this leads to several novel and theoretically interesting predicted effects. Knowledge of these effects advance our understanding of the basic mechanics of GC vibration and offer practically useful insights into how such vibration may be passively reduced.     

从双层规划的角度看道德风险理论的一阶条件方法

本文首先对双层规划的一个特殊例子即道德风险模型中使用的一阶条件方法（FOA）做简要的梳理，然后提出一种更为一般的使FOA有效的原则与方法。新方法主要依赖于代理人对委托人设置的目标的最优反应映射是否存在不动点，这个性质不要求原问题与用一阶条件放松以后的问题之间的约束集等价，从而也不要求代理人的期望效用对行动具有全局凹性。在新方法下，可以用较为简单的方法证明FOA在以下两种情形之一有效，即如果分布函数是概率分布的凸组合或者分布函数来自某些特殊的指数族分布。     

Flow-induced shear stress and deformation of a core–shell-structured microcapsule in a microchannel

A numerical model was developed and validated to investigate the fluid–structure interactions between fully developed pipe flow and core–shell-structured microcapsule in a microchannel. Different flow rates and microcapsule shell thicknesses were considered. A sixth-order rotational symmetric distribution of von Mises stress over the microcapsule shell can be observed on the microcapsule with a thinner shell configuration, especially at higher flow rate conditions. It is also observed that when being carried along in a fully developed pipe flow, the microcapsule with a thinner shell tends to accumulate stress at a higher rate compared to that with a thicker shell. In general, for the same microcapsule configuration, higher flow velocity would induce a higher stress level over the microcapsule shell. The deformation gradient was used to capture the microcapsule's deformation in the present study. The effect of Young's modulus on the microcapsule shell on the microcapsule deformation was investigated as well. Our findings will shed light on the understanding of the stability of core–shell-structured microcapsule when subjected to flow-induced shear stress in a microfluidic system, enabling a more exquisite control over the breakup dynamics of drug-loaded microcapsule for biomedical applications.     

Vortex-induced vibration of a circular cylinder with nonlinear stiffness: prediction using forced vibration data

Nonlinear Dynamics - Vortex-induced vibration (VIV) systems with stiffness nonlinearity have received increasing attention because the stiffness nonlinearity can broaden the effective flow velocity...     

Highly Efficient Ir(III)-Coumarin Photo-Redox Catalyst for Synergetic Multi-Mode Cancer Photo-Therapy

Four photo-catalysts of the general formula [Ir(CO6/ppy)₂(L)]Cl where CO6=coumarin 6 ( Ir1 – Ir3 ), ppy=2-phenylpyridine ( Ir4 ), L=4′-(3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)-2,2′ : 6′,2′′-terpyridine ( Ir1 ), 4′-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-2,2′ : 6′,2′′-terpyridine ( Ir2 and Ir4 ), and 4-([2,2′ : 6′,2′′-terpyridin]-4′-yl)-N,N-dimethylaniline ( Ir3 ) were synthesized and characterized. These photostable photo-catalysts ( Ir1 – Ir3 ) showed strong visible light absorption between 400–550 nm. Upon light irradiation (465 and 525 nm), Ir1 – Ir3 generated singlet oxygen and induced rapidly photo-catalytic oxidation of cellular coenzymes NAD(P)H. Ir1 – Ir3 showed time-dependent cellular uptake with excellent intracellular retention efficiency. Upon green light irradiation (525 nm), Ir2 provided a much higher photo-index (PI=793) than the clinically used photosensitizer, 5-aminolevulinicacid (5-ALA, PI>30) against HeLa cancer cells. The observed necro-apoptotic anticancer activity of Ir2 was due to the Ir2 triggered photo-induced intracellular redox imbalance (by NAD(P)H oxidation and ROS generation) and change in the mitochondrial membrane potential. Remarkably, Ir2 showed in vivo photo-induced catalytic anticancer activity in mouse models.     

Electrochemically Determining Electronic Structure of ZnO Quantum Dots with Different Surface Ligands

The electronic structure of quantum dots (QDs) including band edges and possible trap states is an important physical property for optoelectronic applications. The reliable determination of the energy levels of QDs remains a big challenge. Herein we employ cyclic voltammetry (CV) to determine the energy levels of three types of ZnO QDs with different surface ligands. Coupled with spectroscopic techniques, it is found that the onset potential of the first reductive wave is likely related to the conduction band edges while the first oxidative wave originates from the trap states. The determined specific energy levels in CV further demonstrates that the ZnO QDs without surface ligands mainly have oxygen interstitial defects whilst the ZnO QDs covered with ligands contain oxygen vacancies. The present electrochemical method offers a powerful and effective way to determine the energy levels of wide bandgap ZnO QDs, which will boost their device performance.     

Correction to: Practical framework for data-driven RANS modeling with data augmentation

Acta Mechanica Sinica -     

In vitro investigation of cartilage regeneration properties of polymeric ceramic hybrid composite

There would be a major effect on the cartilage regeneration characteristics of ceramic material in a substrate implant requiring biologically active biomaterials and the reinforcement phase. At this moment, we produced collagen-hyaluronic acid @ hydroxyapatite-halloysite nanotube-single walled carbon nanotube composites, which is a successful technique for making a scaffold with a superior counter for cartilage property. FTIR, XRD, and SEM-EDAX were used to perform morphological and structural studies. The prepared composite's surface feature was investigated and discovered by HRTEM-SAED analysis, and it observed porous nature. The simulated body fluids (SBF) assessment of the materials was noticed their bioactivity and chondrocytes to determine their biocompatibility. Hybrid composite displayed promise for cartilage tissue engineering despite mesenchymal stem cells compatibility effect and magnificently demonstrated an antibacterial effect without antibiotics. The live/dead cells analysis shows that the composite can significantly improve mesenchymal stem cells, and the composite has the potential ability for cartilage regeneration. The above characteristics make the material quite interesting and important in the area for regenerative medicinal uses.