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.