Displacement Controlled 2D Compliant Mechanisms for use in Morphing Structures

Morphing materials and structures capable of assuming specific shapes under precise conditions have become increasingly relevant for numerous industries, including aerospace. However, a significant limitation of many proposed morphing materials and structures is their manufacturability. Furthermore, many morphing materials are not capable of supporting significant loads independently. It is therefore of interest to develop a methodology to generate support structures for morphing materials that can support specific desired shapes, and can be manufactured easily. This work proposes a methodology for optimizing compliant mechanisms that can be 3D printed using commercially available materials. These mechanisms are designed to lie behind traditional morphing materials such as shape-memory alloys, and assume a specific displacement profile when subjected to certain loading conditions. The methodology is tested on two separate displacement profiles and is compared with respect to buckling constraint severity.