Abstract:
As a step towards the investigation of dynamic interaction
of revolute clearance joints in a multi-body mechanical
system, this paper numerically investigates the parametric effects of
differently located revolute clearance joints without friction on the
overall dynamic characteristics of a multi-body system. A typical
planar slider-crank mechanism is used as a demonstration case in
which the parametric effects of a revolute clearance joint between
the crank and connecting rod, and between the connecting rod and
slider are separately investigated with comprehensive observations
numerically presented. The selected parameters are the clearance size
and the input crank speed. It is observed that, different joints in a
multi-body system have different sensitivities to the clearance size,
and changing the driving speed of a mechanism makes the behavior of
the mechanism to change from either periodic to chaotic, or chaotic
to periodic depending on which joint has clearance. Therefore the
dynamic behavior of one clearance revolute joint cannot be used as
a general case for a mechanical system. Also the location of the
clearance revolute joint, the clearance size and the operating speed
of a mechanical system, play a crucial role in predicting accurately
the dynamic responses of the system.
