Kinematic sensitivity analysis of a novel micro-mechanism for displacement amplification

Abstract

This research article presents the design and analysis of a displacement amplification mechanism based on a microelectromechanical system (MEMS). The mechanism, compared to generic displacement mechanisms, is smaller and capable of amplifying input displacement by a factor of 6.8. Finite element analysis (FEA) is performed with commercial software Intellisuite using the extended finite element method (XFEM) technique to verify the analytical results from mathematical models. Kinematic response and kinematic sensitivity analysis of the amplification mechanism are computationally carried out to predict the effect of different geometric parameters on the performance of the proposed mechanism. The analysis predicts that length and angle of flexure are the two key geometric parameters significantly affecting the amplification factor (AF), with length having a direct relationship and angle of flexure having an inverse relationship. A significant increase in the AF is seen for a flexure length up to 550 μm and angle below 5°. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the design is optimized, and geometric parameters are finalized. Modal analysis and dynamic simulations, including direct-integration transient and steady-state modal analysis, are performed on the mechanism under the application of 25 g. The mechanism can be integrated with any conventional actuating mechanism in a microsystem where the amplification of a small displacement at the output is desired.