Development and evaluation of a compact 6-axis force/moment sensor with a serial structure for the humanoid robot foot

In order to walk safely, forces and moments exerted on humanoid robot foot should be measured and used for controlling the robot. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a six-axis force/moment sensor used under humanoid robot foot. The developed sensor is capable of measuring 400 N horizontal force, 1000 N vertical force, 20 N·m moment about the horizontal axis and 10 N·m moment about the vertical axis using rectangular cross-sectional beams. The structure of the sensor is newly modeled, and the sensing elements are simulated by using finite element method (FEM). Then the sensor is fabricated by attaching strain gages onto the beams. Finally, a characteristic test of the developed sensor is carried out, and the output from FEM analysis agrees with those from the characteristic test.     

Gasoline level sensor based on displacement sensor using fiber coupler

A simple and fire safe gasoline level sensor has been designed based on displacement sensor using fiber coupler. The sensing principle is to detect displacement of reflector, which is attached to membrane (reflector displacement device), due to the change of gasoline hydrostatic pressure. The displacement of reflector can be detected using fiber coupler from the change of optical power light reflected by the reflector. Three kinds of reflector displacement device used in this experiment are one-layer, two-layer, and three-layer membrane. The experimental results are 0–180 cm of dynamic range, 100–140 cm of linear range, 3.2 mV/cm of sensitivity, and 0.6 cm of resolution for reflector displacement device with one-layer membrane for emptying the tank process. The hysteresis data for emptying and filling the tank process yields the mean of difference 20% for one-layer membrane.     

Ability of different balance tests to discriminate between young and elderly subjects

Different balance tests are used to assess age-related decline of movement function. Good basic metric characteristics are in order for a balance test to become a useful assessment tool for clinical and research practice. By measuring balance of 27 young (22.3 ± 3.6 years) and 23 elderly (82.3 ± 9.6 years) adults discrimination power (ROC curve) of five common and one novel balance test was assessed (maximal lunge, quick step, leaning forwards and backwards, star excursion balance test, forward reach and centre-of-pressure (CoP) tracking, respectively). In all of the tests at least one parameter had high discriminating power (ROC area > 0.8, p < 0.05; d > 0.8). CoP displacement derived parameters in the star excursion balance test had high discrimination power and had the potential to give additional information on balance, besides the outreach distance. The interaction effect between age and direction of reach or lean proved to be insignificant, with the frequency of CoP direction changes in anterior–posterior direction during star excursion balance test being the only exception. The results of this study add to the methodological ground base in clinical balance assessment protocols by identifying parameters with the highest discriminating power of the most commonly applied balance assessment tests.     

Application of two-output port fiber coupler as gasoline level sensor

Detection of gasoline level can be done in a safe and simple way using two output port multimode fiber coupler with a structure of 2 × 2 as a sensor. Two output ports (sensing port) are connected with two reflector displacement device (RDD) and functioned as two probes. These probes are placed on the wall of gasoline tank in a storied and work interchangeably or together depending on setting of these probes. Detection mechanism of the system is based on changes in intensity of reflected light from the reflector RDD that shifts due to changes in level of gasoline (hydrostatic pressure principle). Changes in intensity of light coming into the sensing port are then forwarded to the optical detector. Experiments performed by varying the location of the second probe as 45 cm, 50 cm, and 55 cm above the first probe to detect the level of gasoline in the process of filling and emptying the tank. Experimental results show the process of filling and emptying the tank have small differences of 6% with the dynamic range, the linear region, and resolution are 100 cm, 70 cm, and 0.4 cm respectively. Sensor sensitivity in filling and emptying process of the tank are 2.7 mV/cm and 2.8 mV/cm respectively. These results were the best performance of the sensor, which occurs when the level of the second probe was 55 cm above the first probe.     

Multi input–single output models identification of tower bridge movements using GPS monitoring system

In this paper, RTK-GPS system was used for movement data collection. Two identification models namely; Multi input–single output (MISO) robust fit regression and Neural Network Auto-Regression Moving Average with eXogenous input (NNARMAX) models were used for the identification of these data. The analysis of test results indicate that: (1) the NNARMAX [4 4 1 1] and [5 4 1 5] models defined by taking into account the results of robust regression analysis estimate structural movements more accurately than the NNARMAX [0 1 0 0] model, and (2) the robust fit regression models have good capacities for mapping relationship of applied loads effects factors and displacements of tower. However, temperature and humidity effects on the entire modal shapes are insignificant and (3) the traffic loads are the main factor affects tower bridge displacement.     

Synergy between tribo-oxidation and strain rate response on governing the dry sliding wear behavior of titanium

The present work provides an insight into the dry sliding wear behavior of titanium based on synergy between tribo-oxidation and strain rate response. Pin-on-disc tribometer was used to characterize the friction and wear behavior of titanium pin in sliding contact with polycrystalline alumina disk under ambient and vacuum condition. The sliding speed was varied from 0.01 to 1.4 ms^?1, normal load was varied from 15.3 to 76 N and with a sliding distance of 1500 m. It was seen that dry sliding wear behavior of titanium was governed by combination of tribo-oxidation and strain rate response in near surface region of titanium. Strain rate response of titanium was recorded by conducting uni-axial compression tests at constant true strain rate of 100 s^?1 in the temperature range from 298 to 873 K. Coefficient of friction and wear rate were reduced with increased sliding speed from 0.01 to 1.0 ms^?1. This is attributed to the formation of in situ self lubricating oxide film (TiO) and reduction in the intensity of adiabatic shear band cracking in the near surface region. This trend was confirmed by performing series of dry sliding tests under vacuum condition of 2 × 10^?4 Torr. Characterization tools such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffractometer provided evidence of such processes. These experimental findings can be applied to enhance the dry sliding wear behavior of titanium with proper choice of operating conditions such as sliding speed, normal load, and environment.     

Continuous accurate pH measurements of human GI tract using a digital pH-ISFET sensor inside a wireless capsule

This paper describes the design and implementation of a reliable, low-power pH-ISFET sensor inside a wireless diagnostic capsule for monitoring the pH of the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The sensitive element of the pH sensing device was an ion-sensitive FET (ISFET) with a threshold voltage that varies by concentration of hydrogen ions. An Ag/AgCl reference electrode that was surrounded by gel (mixed KCl) was applied in this pH-sensing device. An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that is designed by a very large scale integration (VLSI) architecture was used as the interface between the pH sensing device and a wireless transceiver. Experimental results demonstrated that the pH sensitivity and operating range of the pH sensing device was 44.94 mV/pH and 1–11 pH; the device is linear. With the 18-bit Analog/Digital converter (ADC) module in the ASIC, the resolution could achieve 11,780 bits/pH. Moreover, the power dissipation of the pH-sensing device was only 0.048 mW while working in intermittent mode (duty cycle = 20%). Results from human experiments showed that this pH sensing device can work reliably for 136 h, and the pH data of sampled from the human GI tract can be received by a portable data recorder outside the human body in real time.     

The pore water pressure sensor based on Sagnac interferometer with polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber for the geotechnical engineering

The pore water pressure sensors with the six-hole suspended-core polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber (SC-PM-PCF) and commercial polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber (PM-PCF) are designed based Sagnac interferometer and calibrated in the laboratory. According to the theoretical analysis and calibration results, the transmission spectrum is very sensitive to the pore water pressure. It is found that the wavelength of the spectrum has a good linear relationship with variances of the surrounding pore water pressure, and the coefficient of wavelength–pressure of the commercial PM-PCF is 304.41 kPa/nm with the length of 35 cm as the sensing element while the coefficient of the SC-PM-PCF is 254.75 kPa/nm with the length of 100 cm. Finally, the two PM-PCF sensors are applied and compared with the conventional Pore water Pressure Transducers (PPTs) in a physical model test. It is found that measurements of the PM-PCF sensors are in good agreement with the results measured by the conventional PPTs.     

In-situ measurements of mechanical and volume change of LiCoO2 lithium-ion batteries during repeated charge–discharge cycling by using digital image correlation

In-situ morphological evolution of displacement in pouch-type commercial lithium-ion batteries during multiple fifty-five electrochemical charging-discharging cycles was measured via digital image correlation technique. The maximum principal strain on the battery surface reached 0.35% during 55 cycles. The whole volume change analysis of LIBs shows that the maximum volume change rate arrives at 4.27% at the fully 52nd charging end, and the maximum residual volume change rate is about 2.89% at the 54th discharging end. The surface morphologies of cathodes and anodes before and after electrochemical cycling were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The elastic modulus of the copper foil in LIBs decrease from as-received 16.7 GPa to 10.6 GPa after 55 cycles by using tensile tests.     

Effect of CuO as a dopant in TiO2 on ammonia and hydrogen sulphide sensing at room temperature

The heterogeneous nanocomposites of CuO doped TiO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized using sol gel method by varying the concentration of CuO as 0.1, 0.5 and 1 mol% for the sensing of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide. The substitutional doping of CuO in TiO₂ matrix was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction. Average crystallite size of the doped nanocomposites was found to reduce with increase in concentration of CuO. The 0.1 mol% CuO doped TiO₂ nanocomposites showed highest sensitivity to ammonia (97%) with response time of 2 s, while 1 mol% was selective to H₂S gas (77%) with response time of 45 s for 50 ppm of each gas at room temperature.     

A motorized 5 m tape comparator for traceable measurements of tapes and rules

A motorized 5 m tape comparator was constructed in TUBITAK UME for calibration of tapes and rules up to 5 m length in one set-up and further lengths in multiple set-ups. The system is a practical development and provides a cost effective solution for calibration of tapes in which the highest grade’s accuracy requirement in OIML R35-1 e.g. is 600 μm for 5 m length and 1100 μm for 10 m length. It is mainly composed of 6 m rail system, mechanical parts, optical units and an integrated 6 m incremental linear encoder as a reference measurement axis for traceable measurements. The rails are kinematically located on a heavy marble construction and a motorized carriage, which employs a camera for probing of the scales on the tapes, is moved along the rails during the measurement. The image of the scale taken by the camera is viewed on the monitor screen together with the running software. The operator can perform the probing process by simply moving the carriage over the measured scales (tapes or rules) using a joystick. The carriage movement is measured by the incremental linear encoder previously calibrated by a laser interferometer and the software automatically takes the measurement results from the incremental linear encoder, applies correction values previously defined and determines the length of the tapes and rules as well as deviations from nominal lengths. The estimated expanded uncertainty of the steel tape measurement is U = 54 μm in one set-up (for 5 m length) and U = 77 μm in two set-ups (for 10 m length) at the confidence level of approximately 95%. Uncertainty budget for calibration of the device itself and for calibration of the test tapes are explained in detail. The results of extensive experimental work and analysis are provided by demonstrating application of science and technology of measurement and instrumentation. Investigations for long term stability of the system are given with the reported test results for the years of 2003-2011 and participated intercomparison results to validate the device scientifically are illustrated.     

Identification and characterisation of steel corrosion using passive high frequency RFID sensors

High frequency RFID sensors are attractive in diverse applications where sensor performance is required at a low cost and dimension restriction. An approach adapting commercial passive 13.56 MHz RFID tags has been developed for sensing corrosion stage. This investigation includes balance of sensing and positioning of RFID sensors for corrosion detection by analysing real and imaginary parts of the complex impedance. With passive HF RFID sensors, real part and imaginary part of complex impedance have been extracted from the reader coil with VNA (vector network analyser) and delivering a unique capability for corrosion sensing with different atmospheric exposure time steel samples (1 month, 6 months, 10 months and 12 months). With different positioning (5–25 mm), features extraction based on the complex impedance with PCA (principal component analysis) has been designed for position-independent corrosion evaluation.     

Force coefficients for a large clearance open ends squeeze film damper with a central feed groove: Experiments and predictions

The paper describes a large load squeeze film damper (SFD) test rig, details measurements of dynamic loads inducing circular orbits conducted on a large clearance (c=0.250 mm) open ends centrally grooved SFD, and presents the identified experimental SFD force coefficients for operation at three static eccentricities. The rig has a bearing cartridge supported atop four elastic rods and a stationary journal, 0.127 mm in diameter. The damper consists of two parallel film lands, 12.7 mm in length, separated by a central groove, 6.35 mm 9.5 mm in depth. In the journal, three equally spaced holes, 120° apart, supply a light lubricant into the central groove and squeeze film lands. The experimental SFD force coefficients are compared to test results obtained earlier for a damper with the same film land lengths but with a smaller clearance (c=0.140 mm) and against predictions obtained from an advanced physical model that accounts for the flow field in the central groove and the interaction with the adjacent film lands. Dynamic pressures in the film lands and in the central groove are (not) surprisingly of the same order of magnitude. The central groove affects the dynamic forced response of the test damper to generate large direct damping coefficients, ~3.5 times those derived from classical lubrication formulas. Experimental added mass coefficients are ~7.4 times the predictive classical values. Predictions from an advanced model correlate well with the test data when using a shallow groove depth. The measurements and analysis advance knowledge on the dynamic forced performance of SFDs, point out to the limited value of simplistic predictive formulas, and validate the accuracy of a modern predictive tool.     

High-accuracy displacement metrology and control using a dual Fabry-Perot cavity with an optical frequency comb generator

A displacement metrology and control system using an optical frequency comb generator and a dual Fabry-Perot cavity is developed with sub-nm accuracy. The optical frequency comb generator has expanded the displacement measurement range and the dual cavity system has suppressed the environmental fluctuation. We evaluated the absolute uncertainty of the developed displacement measurement system to be approximately 190 pm for the displacement of 14 μm and the accurate displacement control using a phase-locked loop was demonstrated with a resolution of approximately 24 pm.     

Design and Analysis of MEMS Comb Drive Capacitive Accelerometer for SHM and Seismic Applications

This work presents the design of a MEMS accelerometer that is specifically intended for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applications where sensing low frequency low amplitude accelerations with high resolution is essential. The surface micromachined comb drive capacitance accelerometer structure has been considered in this design. The simulation experiments conducted on these devices using IntelliSuite MEMS design tool show that it has excellent displacement sensitivity of 21.39 μm/g, a capacitive sensitivity of 1.22 pF/g and voltage sensitivity of 1783 mV/g/V when it is designed to measure 0–0.1 g. Further, it is seen that it has a very low noise floor of 1.32 μg/√Hz and therefore high resolution. Since the accelerations can be as low as 0.04 g in SHM applications, excellent resolution is the primary goal in this design. Further, one more sensor specifically meant for strong motion seismic application has also been reported. This device has a bandwidth of 0–250 Hz and a noise floor of 5.612 μg/√Hz in addition to a sensor level voltage sensitivity of 97.9 mV/g/V. Finally, the comparison of these results with other similar devices reported in the past clearly illustrates the comparable performance of the present devices. Further, these devices, unlike the commercial low frequency accelerometers and other similar devices reported in the past can be fabricated by surface micromachining and CMOS compatible processes.     

Design and testing of a long-range,precision fast tool servo system for diamond turning

A long-range, precision fast tool servo (FTS) system was developed that is capable of accurately translating the cutting tool on a diamond turning machine (DTM) with maximum accelerations of 260 m s^?2 and bandwidths of up to 140 Hz. The maximum displacement range of the cutting tool is 2 mm. The FTS utilizes a flexure mechanism driven by a voice coil actuator, a custom linear current amplifier and a laser interferometer feedback system. This paper describes the design of the electromechanical system, controller configuration and cutting tests to evaluate the system. Initially, low disturbance rejection and poor command following degraded the surface finish of machined test parts. Several techniques to add damping to the dynamic system were investigated to improve the generated surface finishes. Electromotive damping was applied inside the voice coil actuator, and two different viscoelastic damping materials were applied to the flexure mechanism. A control strategy consisting of linear and non-linear feedforward controllers and a proportional, integral and derivative (PID) feedback controller was implemented to accommodate the changed system dynamics. The workpieces were analyzed using form and surface inspection instruments to evaluate the overall system performance. A cylindrical part with five lobes cut across the face had a surface finish value between 20 and 30 nm R_a.     

Simultaneous distributed measurement of the strain and temperature for a four-point bending test using polarization-maintaining fiber Bragg grating interrogated by optical frequency domain reflectometry

We demonstrate a simultaneous distributed strain and temperature measurement technique with the spatial resolution of 1 mm using fiber Bragg gratings inscribed in a polarization-maintaining and absorption-reducing fiber (PANDA-FBGs) and optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR). We conduct four-point bending tests in an environmental chamber. Using high birefringent PANDA-FBGs that are manufactured specifically for the simultaneous measurements, the uniform temperature distributions and the typical strain distribution profiles of the four-point bending tests were successfully obtained. The measurement errors of strain were from −31 με to 19 με, and of temperature were from −0.9 °C to 1.3 °C. The spatial standard deviation was 7.5 με and 0.9 °C. We also discussed the effect of the residual strain of the sensor-bonding procedures and the data averaging.     

Experimental study on pullout performance of sensing optical fibers in compacted sand

The distributed optical fiber sensing systems have played an increasingly important role in monitoring civil infrastructures over the past few years. One of the main challenges of their applications to geotechnical monitoring is to increase the reliability of strain sensing optical fibers in measuring the deformation of surrounding soil masses. In this paper, a pullout test method is proposed to characterize the deformation compatibility between an optical fiber and soil. A series of pullout tests on three types of sand-embedded optical fibers are conducted to investigate the performance of the fiber–sand interface. Based on the test results, an explicit tri-linear pullout force–displacement relationship is proposed to describe the mechanical behavior of the fiber–sand interface. The performance of the three fibers regarding fiber–sand interaction mechanism is evaluated in terms of ratio of effective pullout displacement to diameter, ratio of residual pullout displacement to diameter, peak shear strength and residual shear strength. All four parameters of the three fibers are found to have approximately linear relationships with the applied confining pressure, which reveals that the deformation compatibility of the fiber–sand interface is utterly dependent on the confining pressure. For all the three fibers, the first shear stiffness coefficient is about 8 N/mm and the ratio of residual to peak shear strength is about 0.5. Furthermore, the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion is used to get the cohesions and friction angles of the three fiber–sand interfaces. Through a comparison of the pullout performance, one out of three types of fibers tested is found to be more preferable for soil deformation measurement in laboratory-scale tests. The conclusions can provide valuable references for predicting the fiber–soil interface behavior and evaluating the reliability of strain monitoring data.     

Experimental evaluation of capacitance transducers for volumetric concentration measurement of particulate solids

This paper presents an example where an off-line experimental technique based upon idealized flow test models is applied as an alternative method of evaluating a commercial solids flow instrument in a well-controlled environment. The systematic characteristics of a 150 mm bore commercial capacitance transducer were quantified as applied to the volumetric concentration measurement of particulate solids. Results obtained from the experimental studies are presented in terms of overall sensitivity, linearity, sensing field homogeneity, material dependence, moisture and temperature effects.     

An all-fiber Fabry-Pérot interferometer for pressure sensing in different gaseous environments

A gas pressure sensor based on an all-fiber Fabry-Pérot interferometer (FFPI) is reported. The sensing head consists of a small section of silica rod spliced with a large offset between two single-mode fibers. The silica rod is used only as mechanical support so that an air cavity can be formed between both SMF. It is shown that the FFPI sensor is sensitive to gas pressure variation and when submitted to different gaseous environments, namely carbon dioxide, nitrogen and oxygen – sensitivities of 6.2, 4.1 and 3.6 nm/MPa, respectively, were attained. The refractive index change on nitrogen environment by means of gas pressure variation was also determined and a sensitivity of 1526 nm/RIU was obtained. The response of the sensing device to temperature variations in air was also studied and a sensitivity of −14 pm/°C was attained.