A Comprehensive Elliptic

Integral Solution to the Large

Deflection Problems of Thin
Aimei Zhang
Guimin Chen1
Beams in Compliant
e-mail: guimin.chen@gmail.com

Key Laboratory of Electronic Equipment

Structure Design of Ministry of Education,
School of Electro-Mechanical Engineering,
Xidian University,
Xian Shaanxi 710071, China
Mechanisms
The elliptic integral solution is often considered to be the most accurate method for ana-
lyzing large deflections of thin beams in compliant mechanisms. In this paper, a compre-
hensive 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.
[DOI: 10.1115/1.4023558]

1 Introduction In this paper, a comprehensive elliptic integral solution is pro-

posed for solving the large deflections of beams of any end angle
Compliant mechanisms, which achieve at least some of their
and with multiple inflection points. By incorporating the number
mobility from the deflection of flexible segments rather than from
of inflection points (m) and the sign of the end moment load (SM)
articulated joints only, offer many advantages such as energy stor-
in the derivation, the comprehensive solution is capable of locat-
age, increased precision, and reduced wear, backlash and part
ing all the possible deflected configurations of the beam for a
number [1]. However, the nonlinearity associated with the large
given tip load or tip deflection. The comprehensive solution also
deflection problem often complicates the design and analysis of
extends the elliptic integral solutions to be suitable for any beam
compliant mechanisms. One of the major difficulties lies in accu-
end angle. The relationship between the deflection angles at
rately modeling the large deflections in compliant mechanisms.
inflection points is revealed for the first time. The comprehensive
Several methods are currently available for solving the large
solution also encompasses the undulating and nodal elastica
deflection problems in compliant mechanisms, e.g., the circle-arc
solutions.
method [2], the finite element method, the chain algorithm
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In Sec. 2, the
[1,35], the Adomian decomposition method [6], the elliptic inte-
basic equations of the large deflection problem are reviewed and
gral solution [7], and various pseudo-rigid-body model (PRBM)
the angles at inflection points are further discussed. Section 3
methods [812]. Among these methods, the elliptic integral solu-
presents the comprehensive elliptic integral solution and dis-
tion is often considered to be the most accurate method for model-
cusses a few deflected configurations of complex modes. Two
ing large deflections of beams that are so thin and flexible that the
examples are presented to demonstrate the use of the compre-
effects of axial elongation and shear are negligible. Bisshopp and
hensive solution in Sec. 4. Section 5 presents two case studies to
Drucker derived an elliptic integral solution for beams subject to
show the capabilities of the comprehensive solution in solving
vertical forces [13]. Howell and Lyon et al. [1,9,10,14] presented
problems with the slope h out of the range of p /  h < /
the elliptic integral solutions for a few load cases where no inflec-
and with multiple inflection points. The last section has conclud-
tion point is produced in a beam. An elliptic integral solution for
ing remarks.
the large deflection with an inflection point was derived by Kim-
ball and Tsai [15]. These solutions have the limitation that the
slope h of the deflected beam is in the range of p /  h < / 2 Large Deflection Beam Equations
(/ denotes the direction of the end force). Shoup presented the Figure 1 shows an initially straight beam subject to an end force
solutions to the undulating and nodal elastica based on the elliptic gP and an end moment Mo. The end force can be divided into a ver-
integrals [16,17]. Chen and Zhang [18] derived the elliptic inte- tical component P and a horizontal component nP and we have
gral solution for stain energy in large-deflection beams and used
the solution to evaluate the accuracy of PRBM. The elliptic inte- p
g 1 n2 (1)
grals have also been used to solve the fixed-guided problem in
which two inflection points might occur [1921].
Without loss of generality, we assume P is always positive, while
1
SM is introduced to denote the sign of Mo as
Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Mechanisms and Robotics Committee of ASME for 
publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANISMS AND ROBOTICS. Manuscript received July 1 Mo  0
22, 2012; final manuscript received November 15, 2012; published online March 26, SM (2)
2013. Assoc. Editor: Anupam Saxena.
1 M0  0

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 Note that
9
dh dh dx dh >
cos h >
>
=
ds dx ds dx
(10)
dh dh dy dh >
>
sin h >
;
ds dy ds dy

substituting Eq. (10) into Eq. (5), separating variables and inte-
grating yields
ho 9
a 1 cos h
6 p p dh >
>
>
=
L a 2 0  sin h n cos h k
(11)
b 1 ho sin h >
>
6 p p dh >
;
Fig. 1 Deflected configuration of a thin beam subject to
L a 2 0  sin h n cos h k
combined force and moment loads (with the positive directions
of P, nP and Mo shown) where a/L and b/L are the nondimensional coordinates of the tip
point along the x- and y-axes, respectively. The signs of Eqs. (9)
and (11) are chosen in the same way as for Eq. (4). Equations (9)
According to the Bernoulli-Euler beam theory, the bending and (11) together serve as the general equations for the large
moment at an arbitrary point A (x, y) on the beam is proportional deflection problem.
to the curvature at that point, that is The elastica theory [16] shows that a deflected beam may pos-
sess an arbitrary number of inflection points. Let m m  0
dh denote the number of inflection points. Knowing that M 0 at
M EI Pa  x nPb  y Mo (3)
ds inflection points, Eqs. (5) and (6) are reduced to the following
form at inflection points
where EI is the flexural rigidity of the beam, M is the moment and
dh=ds the curvature. k sin h  n cos h (12)
Equation (3) can be rewritten as (see Ref. [1] for detailed
derivation) Equation (12) has an infinite set of solutions for h and each of the
solutions (denoted as h) ^ represents the deflection angle at an
rr inflection point, as shown in Fig. 2. The solution is given as
dh 2P M2
6  sin h n cos h sin ho  n cos ho o (4)
ds EI 2PEI
h^j 2kp /6 cos1 k=g k 0; 61; 62 (13)
where ho is the deflected angle of the beam end. The sign in
Eq. (4) is chosen as follows: positive for concave upward curva- where j indicates the jth inflection point numbering from the fixed
ture and negative for convex downward curvature. Equation (4) end of the deflected beam and / represents the angle of the force
can be rewritten as applied at the free end (as marked in Fig. 1)
r
dh 2Pp
6  sin h n cos h k (5) / p=2 tan1 n
ds EI

where Equation (13) also reveals the relationship between the deflection
angles at inflection points.
k sin ho  n cos ho j (6) The deflection curves can be divided into two groups according
to the sign of Mr (the resulting moment at the fixed end of the
beam, as marked in Fig. 1). Figure 3(a) presents the deflected con-
and j is the load ratio [1] given as
figurations with positive curvature at the fixed ends, i.e., Mr > 0,
and examples of m 1, 2, 3. Because the curvature changes sign
Mo2
j (7) at inflection points, we know Sr 1m SM 1, where Sr
2PEI denotes the sign of Mr.
Integrating Eq. (5) results in
r L
P 1 ho dh
ds 6 p p (8)
EI 0 2 0  sin h n cos h k

For the force index a defined in Ref. [1] given as

r
PL2
a
EI

we have
Fig. 2 Solutions of Eq. (12) for n 5 0:1; j 5 0:1 and ho
ho 5 0:1k 5 sin ho  n cos ho j 5 0:1003. The values of h where
1 dh
a 6 p p (9) k 5 0:1003 represents the magnitude of the beam angle at the
2 0  sin h n cos h k inflection points

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 h^j1 9
Sr X m
dh >
>
a p 1j p >
>
>
2 j0 h^j  sin h n cos h k >
>
>
>
h^j1 >
>
a Sr X m
cos hdh =
p 1j p (16)
L a 2 j0  sin h n cos h k >
h^j >
>
>
>
^ >
>
b Sr X m h j1
sin hdh >
>
p 1j
p >
>
L a 2 j0 ^
hj  sin h n cos h k ;

Without loss of generality, we define h^0 0 and h^m1 ho .

Equation (16) will be solved using the elliptic integrals in Sec. 3.

3 Comprehensive Elliptic Integral Solution

In this section, the elliptic integrals are used to solve Eq. (16).
The incomplete elliptic integrals of the first and second kinds are
defined as [22]
c
dd
Fc; t p (17)
0 1  t2 sin d

and
c p
Ec; t 1  t2 sin d dd (18)
0

respectively, where c is called the amplitude and t (1  t  1)

the modulus. When c p=2, they become the complete elliptic
integrals of the first and second kinds and are denoted as F(t) and
E(t), respectively.
Due to the limitation of the range of elliptic integrals, the ellip-
tic integral solutions to Eq. (16) are divided into two parts: jkj > g
Fig. 3 The deflected curves with multiple inflection points
and jkj  g.

3.1 Case I: k>g. When jkj > g, the deformed curve changes
monotonously [15] and there is therefore no inflection point
(m 0). Equation (16) can be written as
p 9
SM 2 >
>
a p f >
>
kg >
>
>
>
p >
>
p =
a SM 2
2 p nkf nk ge k gc for jkj > gm 0
L g a kg >
>
>
>
p >
>
b SM 2 p >
>
>
Fig. 4 The angle of a deflected curve for m 5 3 and Mo0 <0 2 p kf  k ge n k gc > ;
L g a kg
(19)

Lets consider m 3 as an example to illustrate the change of where

angle h along a deflected beam. The angle increases from 0 to h^1
(the angle at the first inflection point D), then decreases from h^1 to f Fc2 ; t  Fc1 ; t
h^2 (the angle at the second inflection point E), then increases from
e Ec2 ; t  Ec1 ; t
h^2 to h^3 (point F) and finally, decreases from h^3 to the tip angle p p
ho , as shown in Fig. 4. In this example, the deflection angles are in c k n  k  sin ho n cos ho
the range of 2p / < h  /, thus we have s
2g
t
h^1 h^3 /  cos1 k=g (14) kg
r
gn
and c1 sin1
2g
s
h^2 2p / cos1 k=g (15) k 1 g sin ho  n cos ho
c2 b0:5kcp 1 sin
2g
Figure 3(b) plots a few deflected configurations having negative
curvature at the fixed ends, i.e., Mr < 0 and Sr 1m SM 1. for k  1p / < ho  kp / k 0; 61; 62   
Again, because the curvature changes sign at inflection points,
Eqs. (9) and (11) can be rewritten as and b0:5kc gives the largest integer less than or equal to 0.5k.

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 3.2 Case II: jkj g. For jkj  g, the deformed curve may function fsolve in MATLAB was used with TolFun was set to
have an arbitrary number of inflection points (m  0). Equation 108 ). As a starting point, it is reasonable to assume
(16) can be expressed using the elliptic integrals as
 2p / < h  / (21)
9
Sr >
a p f >
>
g >
>
> thus only the following two solutions of h^j in Eq. (13) need to be
>
a Sr p = considered
5=2 ngf 2nge 2gc for jkj  g and m  0
L ag >
>
>
> h^j 2p / cos1 k=g or h^j /  cos1 k=g (22)
b Sr p >
>
5=2 gf  2ge n 2gc > ;
L ag It is interesting to note that, for the range of Eq. (21), all the
(20) angles at odd inflection points are equal, and the angles at even
inflection points are also equal. Substituting Eq. (22) into Eq. (20)
where yields
8 9
> X m Sr >
>
< 1m Fc ; t  Fc ; t  2 1j Fch^j ; t m  1 a p f >
>
f
2 1 g >
>
> j1 >
=
: a Sr p
Fc2 ; t  Fc1 ; t m0 5=2 ngf 2nge 2gc
8 L ag >
>
> X m >
>
< 1m Ec ; t  Ec ; t  2 1j Ech^j ; t m  1 b Sr p >
>
e
2 1 5=2 gf  2ge n 2gc > ;
> j1 L ag
:
Ec2 ; t  Ec1 ; t m0 for  2p / < h  / and jkj  g (23)
p p
c k n  1m k  sin ho n cos ho
s where
kg
t
2g f 1m Fc2 ; t  Fc1 ; t 2mSr Ft
Sr 1m SM e 1m Ec2 ; t  Ec1 ; t 2mSr Et
r p p
gn c k n  1m k  sin ho n cos ho
c1 sin1 s
kg
s kg
t
k 1 g sin ho  n cos ho 2g
c2 b0:5kcp 1 sin r
kg gn
c1 sin1
for k  1p / < ho  kp /k 0; 61; 62    kg
8 r
p > g sin ho  n cos ho
ch^j b0:5kcp 1k >
>
< sin 1
p / < ho  /
2 kg
for k  1p / < h^j  kp /k 0; 61; 62    c2 r
>
> g sin ho  n cos ho
>
: sin1 2p / < ho  p /
kg
where b0:5kc is the largest integer less than or equal to 0.5k.
Equations (19) and (20) include seven unknown parameters:
There exists a special case worth mentioning in Eq. (23). When
three load parameters (a, j, and n), three deflection parameters (a,
ho 0 and m is even, f reduces to 2mSr Ft, e to 2mSr Et and c
b, and ho ) and shape parameter (m). During the calculation, the
to 0, thus Eq. (23) is rewritten as
shape parameter m should be given in advance. When there is no
inflection point (m 0), the deflection can be solved by Eq. (19) a 1 9
for jkj > g and Eq. (20) for jkj  g. When m  1, the deflection is nFt 2nEt >
>
=
solved exclusively by Eq. (20). Among the other six parameters, L gFt
for ho 0 and m is even
given any three of them, the other three can be solved using b 1 >
>
Ft  2Et ;
Eqs. (19) or (20). Nevertheless, an ideal way is to directly solve L gFt
Eqs. (19) or (20) for a, a/L and b/L for given n, j, and ho . If three (24)
parameters other than n, j and ho are given, a numerical iteration
process is required to solve the deflection. It should be noted that
This indicates that a/L and b/L are independent of SM and m, that
both SM 1 and SM 1 should be considered when solving
is to say, the deflected beam has multiple possible configurations
deflection problems where Mo is not specified.
for the same tip deflection, as illustrated in Fig. 5. Even for a
The above derivation is based on the assumption of P > 0. In
given m that is even, there still exist two deflection configurations,
the case that P < 0, the signs of n, j, ho , SM and b (but not a) are
with one corresponding to SM 1 and the other to SM 1. This
reversed in Eqs. (19) and (20).
special case corresponds to the fixed-guided condition, which is
an important case that can be found in many compliant mecha-
3.3 Discussion of Comprehensive Solution. Generally nisms, e.g., fully compliant bistable mechanism [20,21] and paral-
speaking, a deflected configuration with more inflection points lel guided mechanisms.
corresponds to a higher strain-energy level in the beam. Unless Now consider a comprehensive solution for a deflection where
otherwise constrained, a deflected beam will have the least num- h is beyond the scope outlined in Eq. (21) and is therefore also
ber of inflection points possible that still satisfies the governing beyond the range of solutions presented in Refs. [1] and [15],
equations and the boundary conditions. Therefore, when solving which are valid for p /  h < /. Figure 6 illustrates the
large deflection problems in compliant mechanisms, an iterative deflected curves for SM 1, n 0, and ho 3p obtained by
process can be employed to incrementally increase m from 0 to a Eq. (19). It is shown that the deflected curve tends to a circle
number that yields a feasible solution (in this work, the build-in with increasing j, which concurs with the results in the nodal

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 Fig. 5 The deflected configurations corresponding to m 5 2
and m 5 4 when ho 5 0

Fig. 7 The curves of m 5 1; SM 5  1; j 5 0:01; n 5 10, and

ho 5 p

Fig. 6 The deflected curves for SM 5 1, n 5 0, and ho 5 3p Fig. 8 Comparison of the tip locus of the comprehensive solu-
tion with that of Ref. [1] for a beam subject to a pure moment
elastica solution [17]. The graphs in Fig. 7 plot the deflections
calculated using Eq. (20) for h^ 2p / cos1 k=g and
h^ 4p / cos1 k=g.
The comprehensive solution is also useful for pure-force and
pure-moment load cases. When the end load is a pure force
(Mo 0), SM can be both 1 and 1, and Eq. (20) is used to
solve for the force index a and the coordinates of the tip point
for both cases. When the end load is a pure moment, i.e., P 0, the
comprehensive solution can be used to approximate the
deflection by using a very large value for j instead of 1, e.g., 105.
Figure 8 compares the tip point locus approximated by the
comprehensive solution and that of [1] in the range of h0 2 0; 2p.
The two loci agree well and the maximum root mean square
q
error is error=Lmax a=L  a=LH 2 b=L  b=LH 2
3:52  104 (subscript H indicates that the value is obtained
using the solution on Page 45 of Ref. [1]).

4 Verification
In this section, two examples taken from the literature are pre-
sented to verify the effectiveness of the comprehensive solution.

4.1 Partial Compliant Four-Bar Mechanism. Figure 9

shows a partially compliant four-bar mechanism taken from Ref. Fig. 9 A partially compliant four-bar mechanism containing a
[11]. In the mechanism, Link DQ is compliant while links AB and flexible beam DQ

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 Fig. 12 Plots of the moments and end forces of the flexible
beam versus crank angle h1

Fig. 10 The free-body diagram of each link in the mechanism

Fig. 13 Plots of input moment Tin versus crank angle h1

further obverse the change of the inflection point, the moments at

both ends of DQ (Mo and MD) and the forces applied at Q are plot-
ted as functions of h1 in Fig. 12. The deflection of Link DQ starts
with one inflection point (m 1). The inflection point disappears
at h1 233 deg where M0 0, and returns at h1 265 deg where
MD 0. The kinetostatic behavior of the mechanism achieved by
Fig. 11 The deflected shape calculated by the comprehensive Eq. (27) is plotted in Fig. 13. Tin equals zero at four positions: A
solution (h1 0 or 360 deg) and C are stable equilibrium positions and B
and D are unstable equilibrium positions. The results obtained
BQ are rigid. The lengths of link AB, BC, CQ and DQ are denoted using a finite element analysis (FEA) model built with the ANSYS
as LAB, LBC, LCQ, and LDQ, respectively. Link AB has revolute software (Link DQ was meshed into 200 elements with Beam
joints at each end and serves as the input link subject to a pure 188) are also shown in Fig. 13 for comparison. It shows that the
moment input Tin. The loop closure equations are result of the comprehensive solution agrees well with FEA. On a
personal computer with a processor of 2.4 GHz, it takes 25.9 s for
Qx  LCQ sin ho  LBC sinh2  ho LAB cos h1 the comprehensive solution implemented in MATLAB to obtain the
(25) results, while the FEA model consumes 387.8 s on average to
Qy LCQ cos ho  LBC cosh2  ho LAB sin h1 LDA complete the same calculation.

Figure 10 shows the free-body diagrams for links DQ, AB, and 4.2 Fixed-Guided Compliant Mechanism. The comprehen-
BQ. Applying the static equilibrium for link BQ yields sive elliptic integral solution was also used to analyze the kineto-
static behavior of a fixed-guided compliant mechanism such as
Mo PLAC sinh2  ho LCQ sin ho  used in many full compliant bistable mechanisms [20,21]. Figure
nPLAC cosh2  ho  LCQ cos ho  0 (26) 14 illustrates an initially-straight fixed-guided beam, of which the
fixed end has an angle b with the horizontal and the guided end
The input moment Tin can be obtained by applying moment equi- moves vertically. A few authors have contributed to this problem,
librium for link AB for example, Zhao et al. [19] presented a numerical method, Holst
et al. [21] considered axial deflection in their elliptic integral
Tin PLAB cos h1 n sin h1 (27) solution, and Kim [23] proposed a curve decomposition method to
simplify the derivation and calculation.
The parameters in Ref. [11] are used LDQ LBC L; LAB When a vertical force Fv is applied at the guided end, the beam
p is deflected to arrive at a static equilibrium state. During bending,
1  1= 2L; LCQ L=20; h2 135 deg; and h10 0 deg.
The motion of the flexible beam and the coupler link is deter- the end slope is constrained to be constant, thus we have ho  0.
mined by simultaneously solving the loop closure equation The coordinates of the guided end are given as
(Eq. (25)), the static equilibrium equation (Eq. (26)) and Eq. (19)
or Eq. (20). Link DQ carries an inflection point at positions a L  d sin b
h1 45 deg; 135 deg; and 315 deg, and the inflection point disap- (28)
pears at h1 245 deg. These positions are shown in Fig. 11. To b d cos b

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 Table 1 The end forces and moments for the two deflection
paths

Case (a) Case (b)

d (m) P (N) n Mo (Nm) P n Mo (Nm)

0.004 0.592 8.083 0.011 0.592 8.083 0.011

0.008 1.271 3.753 0.013 1.271 3.753 0.013
0.012 1.988 2.309 0.014 1.988 2.309 0.014
0.016 2.673 1.588 0.011 2.673 1.588 0.011
0.020 3.106 1.184 7.97  104 3.106 1.184 7.97  104
0.024 0.320 5.180 0.014 0.320 5.180 0.014

Fig. 14 Fixed-guided compliant mechanism

Fig. 16 Comparison of the two deflected configurations

(SM 5 1 and SM 5  1) obtained by the comprehensive solution
with the experimental results in Ref. [21]

Fig. 15 Two possible deflection paths of the fixed-guided

beam (b 5 30 deg) achieved by the comprehensive solution. (a)
SM 5 1 when m 5 2 and (b) SM 5  1 when m 5 2.

Fig. 17 Force Fv versus d for different b

where d is the displacement of the guided end. Fv can be solved as

Fv nP sin b  P cos b (29)

[21] shows a photograph of a device consisting of two parallel
Given the displacement d, the coordinates of the guided end, fixed-guided beams, in which one beam is deflected with SM 1,
a and b, can be solved by Eq. (28). Substituting a and b into the other deflected with SM 1, and both carry two inflection
Eq. (23), j and n can be obtained by solving Eq. (24) for both points (m 2). For the purpose of comparison, we overlay the
SM 1 and SM 1. results of the comprehensive elliptic integral solution on the
The parameters of the beam are the same as those used in photograph of Ref. [21] (photo courtesy of Brian Jensen), as
Ref. [19]: E 160GPa; b 1mm; h 0:1mm; L 30mm; and shown in Fig. 16, with good agreement.
b 30 deg. Figure 15 shows two possible deflection paths of the Figure 17 shows the change of force Fv versus d for different
beam. In general, both deflection paths start with configurations values of b (b 5 deg; 10 deg; 15 deg; 20 deg; 25 deg; 30 deg, and
with two inflection points (m 2), and end with one of the inflec- 35 deg). Equilibrium positions occur where Fv 0, with the two
tion points having disappeared (m 1). For the deflection process stable equilibrium positions of the bistable mechanism occurring
shown in Fig. 15(a), SM 1 (Sr 1 for m 2 and Sr 1 for at d 0 and at the largest value of d for Fv 0.
m 1) and the first inflection point moves toward the fixed end of
the beam until it disappears. For the deflection process shown in
Fig. 15(b), Sr 1 (SM 1 for m 2 and SM 1 for m 1), 5 Case Studies
the second inflection point moves toward the guided end until it Two mechanisms are employed as case studies to demonstrate
disappears. As listed in Table 1, the load-deflection relationships the unique capabilities of the comprehensive solution to solve
of the two deflection paths are identical except the end moments flexible beam problems that are outside the range of other
have opposite signs where two inflection points exist. Reference methods.

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 Fig. 18 Circular-guided compliant mechanism containing a
flexible beam OA
Table 2 Parameters of three-link mechanism
LOA (m) LAB (m) b0 deg E (Pa) I (m4)
0.03 0.02 30 1:4  109 7:8540  1013
Fig. 19 The deflected configurations of beam OA
5.1 Circular-Guided Compliant Mechanism. A circular-
guided compliant mechanism shown in Fig. 18 has motion that is
outside the range of other methods. Link OA is initially straight,
flexible, and has one end attached to ground and the other rigidly
connected to crank AB at point A. Crank AB is rigid and is pinned
to ground at point B, thus guiding point A to follow a circular
path. The lengths of link OA and AB are denoted as LOA and LAB,
respectively. The x-axis is oriented along link OA and the angle
of link AB with respect to the x-axis is denoted as b. The loop
closure equations are given as
) 5.2 Coupler-Curve Guided Compliant Mechanism. This
a LOA  LAB cos b0 LAB cos b
(30)
b LAB sin b0 LAB sin b
where b0 is the initial angle of link AB. The tip angle of beam OA
is equal to b  b0 . The kinetostatics of the mechanism can be
obtained by simultaneously solving Eqs. (20) and (30).
For the parameters of the mechanism given in Table 2, Fig. 19
shows the deflected shapes of link OA at different values of b (b
is increased from b0 to 190 deg). OA starts to be deflected with
two inflection points, where the first inflection point moves
towards the root of beam OA and disappears when b exceeds
164 deg, while the second one moves slightly around s 2 L/3.
Figures 20(b) and 20(c) show photographs of the deflected beam
at b 90 deg and b 170 deg, respectively. They agree well
with the results of the comprehensive solution shown in Fig. 19.
021006-8 / Vol. 5, MAY 2013
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Fig. 20 Photographs of the circular-guided compliant mecha-
nism. (a) b 5 b0 , and OA is straight, (b) b 5 90 deg and the
deflected curve of OA has two inflection points, (c) b 5 170 deg,
and the deflected curve of OA has one inflection point
Fig. 21 Plots of input moment Tin versus crank angle b
The kinetostatics of the mechanism are plotted in Fig. 21.
Figure 21 shows that beam OA buckles at the beginning when nP
reaches 47.7 N, which is slightly smaller than the critical buckling
force predicted by Eulers formula for long column with fixed
ends (Pcr 4p2 EI=L2 48:23N). This difference is due to the
boundary conditions applied at the tip of OA.
subsection presents a case study of a coupler-curve guided
compliant mechanism to show the capability of the comprehen-
sive solution in solving large deflections of flexible beams with
more than two inflection points. The mechanism is comprised of a
four-bar crank-rocker mechanism and a cantilever beam (OE)
whose free end is rigidly connected to the coupler of the crank-
rocker mechanism via rigid link BE, as shown in Fig. 22.
The x-axis is oriented along link OE. As link AB rotates clock-
wise, the tip deflections and the tip angle of beam OE are given as
9
a r2 cos h2  cos h20 r5 cosh50 h3  h30  cos h50  L>
=
b r2 sin h2  sin h20 r5 sinh50 h3  h30  sin h50 
>
;
ho h3  h30
(31)
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 where h20 ; h30 , and h50 are the initial angle of link AB, the free-body diagram for link AB, BC, BE, and OE.
BC, and BE, respectively. The tip loads can be obtained by Applying the static equilibrium for link AB, BC, and BE
simultaneously solving Eqs. (20) and (31). Figure 23 shows yields

9
Tin FBx r2 sin h2  FBy r2 cos h2 >
>
Pr5 cosh50 h3  h30 n sinh50 h3  h30  Mo >
>
FBx nP  =
r3 tan h4 cos h30  sin h3 (32)
fPr5 cosh50 h3  h30 n sinh50 h3  h30  Mo g tan h4 >
>
>
>
FBy P  ;
r3 tan h4 cos h30  sin h3

For the parameters of the mechanism given in Table 3, point E from negative to positive. The results also show that the angles at
traces a trajectory shown in Fig. 24. OE starts to be deflected with the first and the third inflection points are equal when the beam
two inflection points. The third inflection point appears from the contains three inflection points (e.g., inflection points A and C
root of the beam when the moment at the root (Mr) changes sign

Fig. 24 Locus of Point E (the coupler curve) and the deflected

configurations of beam OE

Fig. 22 The coupler-curve guided mechanism in its initial posi-

tion (solid lines) and a deflected position (dashed lines)

Fig. 25 Photographs of the coupler-curve guided compliant

Fig. 23 The free-body diagram of each link in the coupler- mechanism. (a) OE has two inflection points (m 5 2) and (b) OE
curve guided mechanism has three inflection points (m 5 3)

Table 3 Parameters of planar linkage mechanism

r1 m r2 m r3 m r4 m r5 m L (m) E (Pa) I (m4) h20 deg h30 deg h40 deg h50 deg

0.1 0.052 0.13 0.117 0.115 0.11 1:4  109 4:9  1014 0 63.8 85.4 90

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Fig. 26 Plots of input moment Tin versus crank angle h2
shown in Fig. 24). Figures 25(a) and 25(b) show photographs of
the deflected beam with two inflection points and three inflection
points, respectively. They agree well with the results of the com-
prehensive solution shown in Fig. 24. From the input torque
curve plotted in Fig. 26, we can see that beam OE buckles at
the beginning when nP reaches 0.2216 N, which is approxi-
mately equal to the critical buckling force predicted by Eulers
formula for long column with fixed ends (Pcr 4p2 EI=L2
0:2242N).
6 Conclusions
A comprehensive solution based on the elliptic integrals was
proposed for solving large deflection problems. By explicitly
incorporating the number of inflection points (m) and the sign of
the end-moment load (SM) 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 end loads.
The comprehensive solution also extends the elliptic integral
solutions to be suitable for any beam end angle. A few deflected
configurations of complex modes solved by the comprehensive
solution were presented and discussed. Two examples taken from
the literature were presented to verify the effectiveness of the
comprehensive solution. Lastly, two mechanisms were employed
as case studies to demonstrate the unique capabilities of the com-
prehensive solution to solve large deflection problems of flexible
beams that are outside the range of other methods. The compre-
hensive solution also shows promise for use in compliant mecha-
nism synthesis, which will be an important topic for our future
work.
Acknowledgment
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support
from the National Natural Science Foundation of China under
Grant No. 51175396, the program for new century excellent tal-
ents in university under Grant No. NCET-11-0689, and the Fun-
damental Research Funds for the Central Universities under
Grant No. K5051204021. The permission to use the photograph
in Ref. [21] by Professor Brian D. Jensen is also gratefully
acknowledged.
021006-10 / Vol. 5, MAY 2013
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