Deformation Modeling of Viscoelastic Objects for Their Shape Control

A new approach to the deformation modeling of viscoehwtic objects for their shape control is presented. Manipulative operations of viscoeiastic objects can be found in many industrial fields such as food indust~ and medical product industry. Automatic operations of viscoelastic objects are eagerly requirwd in these jields. Since viscoelastic objects deform during operation processes, it is necessay to simulate the behavior of the objects and to estimate their deformation for the automatic operations. Consequently, a model of a viscoelastic object is needed for the simulation and the estimation of its deformation. We will propose a lattice structure based modeling method for viscoekstic object deformation. First, behavior of four element models is briefiy explained. Second, a viscoelastic object is modeled as a lattice structure, where mass points am connected through four element models. We will simulate shape deformation of the model when force input is applied to it. Validity of the model is then discussed. Next, we will introduce a nonlinear damper(NLD) into a four element model in order to solve a discrepancy between an actual vis coelastic object and its linear model. Comparing the behavior of the two models, we will show the validity of the model using NLD ‘s.