Design of 2D Spring for Lower Extremities Exoskeleton

Liew, Ching Ching (2023) Design of 2D Spring for Lower Extremities Exoskeleton. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

Existing technology clearly indicates that the exoskeleton requires a spring-based mechanism due to the fragility of the current spring design. In this study, the concept of spring is applied as the main mechanism. This research may bring advantages to the industry sector and medical sector. A spiral spring is one that is constructed of flat metal sheets or plates. It works by storing energy when it is compressed by external pressure and dissipating energy when the spring is restored and the external load is forced to rotate. The design constraint for the spiral spring are: (a) 60mm external diameter, (b) 23mm internal diameter, (c) 5mm spring width, and (d) 1.25mm thickness of spring arm. Meanwhile, objected to maximize the tolerable torque and deflection angle. Based on research from previous studies, 2D plane elastic simulation is proposed to simulate the FEA model for spring designs by use of SOLIDWORKS. 0.4mm is the largest mesh size that will produce a precise outcome according to the convergence study. Both SOLIDWORKS and ANSYS simulations are conducted and compared. To validate the results of maximum torque and maximum deflection angle from FEA, an experiment is conducted. Lastly, an exoskeleton is designed, with the installation of three pieces of spring which are joined in series.