EFFECTS OF CONTACT FORCE MODEL ON DYNAMICS CHARACTERISTICS OF MECHANICAL SYSTEM WITH REVOLUTE CLEARANCE JOINTS

The contact force model is one of the important issues in dynamics analysis of mechanical systems with joint clearance. The main objective of this work is to present a computational study on the effects of the contact force models on dynamics characteristics of mechanical system with revolute clearance joints. The intra-joint contact forces that are generated at clearance joints are computed by considering several different elastic and dissipative approaches. A simple review of the constitutive laws utilized in this work is presented and analyzed. Finally, a well-known slider-crank mechanism with a revolute clearance joint is utilized to perform the investigation. The investigation results show that the dynamics characteristics of mechanical system with clearance are obviously shaking and the amplitude increases from the mechanism without clearance. The contact force model of the clearance joint has an important effect on the dynamics responses of mechanical system and the selection of appropriate contact force model of clearance joints plays a significant role in dynamics analysis of multibody mechanical system with revolute clearance joint.