A NEW CLASS OF LIGHT MCAHINERY IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE COMBINATION OF ELASTIC AND PLASTIC MACHINE COMPONENTS IN HYDRAULIC DEVICES OF NOVEL CONFIGURATION.

A NEW CLASS OF LIGHT MCAHINERY IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE COMBINATION OF ELASTIC AND PLASTIC MACHINE COMPONENTS IN HYDRAULIC DEVICES OF NOVEL CONFIGURATION. THE ADVANCED CONCEPT TO BE RESEARCHED IS ALIGHT WEIGHT 100 PSI HYDROSTATIC POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM USING WATER AS THE LUBRICANT AND DRIVE FLUID AND CAPABLE OF DELIVERING UP TO ONE HALF HORSEPOWER MECHANICALLY AT ANGULAR SHAFT RATES BELOW 150 RPM. IT IS BASED ON THE USE OF WATER LUBRICATED ELASTOMER COMPONENTS OF LOW PRECISION IN SIMPLE ROTARY LOBE PUMPS AND MOTORS WHICH COULD BE MASS PRODUCED INEXPENSIVELY. IN CONTRAST, FLUID PUMPS AND MOTORS USED IN CONVENTIONAL HYDRAULIC POWER SYSTEM RANGE UPWARD FROM ABOUT 3 HP, ARE PRECISELY MACHINED, EXPENSIVE, AND USUALLY OPERATEABOVE 500 RPM WITH MICROFILTERED VISCOUS FLUID UNDER PRESSURE EXCEEDING 1000 PSI. THE PHASE I RESEARCH ENCOMPASSES KINEMATIC ANALYSIS AND CONSTRUCTION OF A LABORATORY PROTOTYPE FOR EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH WHICH WILL SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTE TO PROVING THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF THE CONCEPT. ANTICIPATED RESULTS INCLUDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE OF MACHINE DESIGN THE COMPLIANT POLYMERS. THE RESEARCH OFFERS SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE DESIGNS OF WATER DRIVEN FLUID POWER DEVICES AND HAS PARTICULAR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FIELD OF ROBOTICS WHERE HIGHLY ARTICULATED APPLICATION OF POWER IS REQUIRED.