A Comprehensive Elliptic Integral Solution to the Large Deflection Problems of Thin Beams in Compliant Mechanisms

Abstract

The elliptic integral solution is often considered to be the most accurate method for analyzing large deflections of thin beams in compliant mechanisms. In this paper, a comprehensive solution based on the elliptic integrals is proposed for solving large deflection problems. By explicitly incorporating the number of inflection points and the sign of the end-moment load in the derivation, the comprehensive solution is capable of solving large deflections of thin beams with multiple inflection points and subject to any kinds of load cases. The comprehensive solution also extends the elliptic integral solutions to be suitable for any beam end angle. Deflected configurations of complex modes solved by the comprehensive solution are presented and discussed. The use of the comprehensive solution in analyzing compliant mechanisms is also demonstrated by examples.