A Dimensionless Large Displacement Model for Flexure Hinges of Elliptical Geometry

Flexure hinges are joints typically used in the design and manufacturing of compliant mechanisms, especially when small dimensions do not allow for conventional mechanical devices. In this paper, a closed-form solution is proposed for a nonlinear stiffness model used to describe the static displacements obtained on a flexure hinge of elementary geometry as a function of applied loads. A comparison with the most widely used linear model demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed nonlinear approach, highlighting the advantages of its use in its scope of application. The obtained results are verified by finite element (FE) simulations, taken as a reference of the actual behavior assumed for the joints studied.