Mechanism Design by Chance Constrained Programming Techniques

Abstract

The problem of optimum design of mechanisms for minimum mechanical and structural error is formulated as a stochastic programming problem. The nominal link lengths, the tolerances on link lengths and the clearances in joints are considered as design parameters. The constraints are also stated in probabilistic terms, i.e., each constraint is required to be satisfied with certain minimum specified probability. The techniques of chance constrained programming are applied to solve the optimization problem. The optimum design of a simple 4-bar function generating mechanism is considered to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method.