Abstract

We investigate the kinematic performance of linear elastic recoil using computational methods to determine how power delivery and energy conversion can be optimized. We used the finite difference method to track the motion of an elastic band with load mass attached, and determined how the relative sizes between the load mass and elastic band mass influence power delivery and energy conversion. We also determined the scaling relationships between various system parameters defining elastic recoil (wavespeed, elastic band mass, load mass, initial strain and initial band length) with maximum power delivery and kinetic energy conversion. We will quantify the efficiency of energy conversion using a quantity known as resilience, which is defined as the maximum kinetic energy achieved divided by the stored elastic energy. In addition, we considered how a time-varying unlatching force influences the kinematics of recoil. The results presented here provide a guide of the conditions necessary to optimize motion in a linear elastic system with load mass attached.