Dynamic analysis of planar rigid-body mechanical systems with two-clearance revolute joints

In this paper, the behavior of planar rigid-body mechanical systems due to the dynamic interaction of multiple revolute clearance joints is numerically studied. One revolute clearance joint in a multibody mechanical system is characterized by three motions which are: the continuous contact, the free-flight, and the impact motion modes. Therefore, a mechanical system with n-number of revolute clearance joints will be characterized by 3 ⁿ motions. A slider-crank mechanism is used as a demonstrative example to study the nine simultaneous motion modes at two revolute clearance joints together with their effects on the dynamic performance of the system. The normal and the frictional forces in the revolute clearance joints are respectively modeled using the Lankarani–Nikravesh contact-force and LuGre friction models. The developed computational algorithm is implemented as a MATLAB code and is found to capture the dynamic behavior of the mechanism due to the motions in the revolute clearance joints. This study has shown that clearance joints in a multibody mechanical system have a strong dynamic interaction. The motion mode in one revolute clearance joint will determine the motion mode in the other clearance joints, and this will consequently affect the dynamic behavior of the system. Therefore, in order to capture accurately the dynamic behavior of a multi-body system, all the joints in it should be modeled as clearance joints.