The h–p–r-refinement finite element analysis of a planar high-speed four-bar mechanism

Three common refinement methods of achieving more accurate finite element solutions are to increase the number of elements, to employ higher-degree interpolation functions and to implement adaptive mesh by moving the nodes but maintaining the same number of elements as well as the degree of interpolation functions. In this paper, these refinement methods are applied to a planar high-speed four-bar mechanism. Since the selection of refinement methods depends on the demands and requirement of application problems, and the refinement mesh are highly dependent on error indicators, some guidelines are presented, which are based on several error indicators, such as natural frequencies, total energy, strains and global variables. Furthermore, their efficiencies are demonstrated through implementing cubic and quintic shape functions on the mechanism.