THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF THE INTERACTION OF ROBOTS WITH A NON-HOMOGENEOUS THERMAL FIELD

In this paper, thermal modeling of robotic hand and arm as they move in a non-homogeneous temperature field is considered. Because of the periodic motion of robotic hand, thermal analysis under the quasi-steady state condition is important. The quasi- steady state temperature distribution of the robotic hand and arm moving periodically in a non-homogeneous temperature field will be obtained using different levels of approximation. Because of the complexity of the problem, even one-dimensional thermal analysis requires a numerical solution. The complexity arises because of the time dependence of convective heat transfer coefficient and the non-linearity due to radiation heat transfer. The effect of insulation on the robotic hand will be presented. The results of the analytical and numerical solutions for the robotic hand and arm moving in a non-homogeneous temperature field will be compared.