Atsushi Kawaguchi
The Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, vol. 23, no. 4, pp.1040-1045, 2009

Abstract : This paper deals with a new type of shock absorbing device that cooperates between two colliding objects. The new device utilizes a four-bar-chain-like articulated mechanism with some possible actuations. The devices are assumed to be deployed in the pre-crash phase (by sensing and identifying unavoidable collisions) so as to provide an extended deformable region between the two objects. Moreover, by functioning like a four-bar-chain mechanism, they produce a repulsive effect by pushing each other and sliding in the opposite lateral direction. To investigate the capacity of the proposed articulated shock absorbing mechanism, a standard numerical optimization technique called SQP and a new optimization technique called ALPSO are applied. ALPSO is an attractive method for solving multimodal optimization problems based on Particle Swarm Optimization and constraint treatment using an Augmented Lagrange Method. We demonstrate ALPSO and show its applicability to this problem. The optimization process automatically determines the mode of the operation and gives an estimation of the development potential of the new device.

Keyword : Active safety; Investigation and design; Multibody dynamics; Optimization