ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a few more topics on flexible hinges and flexible-hinge mechanisms, such as stress concentration, yielding and related maximum load, precision of rotation of straight- and circular-axis flexible hinges, temperature effects on hinge compliances, layered flexible hinges, and piezoelectric actuation and sensing. It focuses on straight-axis flexible hinges and planar hinge mechanisms that are subjected to in-plane or out-of-plane quasi-static load. Stress concentration factors that are available in the literature and compliance matrices are combined into a formulation enabling to predict the maximum loads and displacements of flexible hinges and their mechanisms. The stress concentrators are particularly important in flexible hinges that are actually discontinuities, particularly in the areas of connection to adjacent rigid links. The sharp corners of a flexible hinge with either constant or variable cross-section are generally avoided by using fillets at the respective areas.
