Utilization of Mechanical Resonance for the Enhancement of Slider-Crank Mechanism Dynamics in Gas Compression Processes

In the slider-crank mechanism, where the rotational motion is transformed into the translational motion, the input torque is highly variable due to the inertial effect. The consequence of fluctuating torque is that it causes the load upon the prime mover to be inconsistent, which might likely results in higher stresses in the components, higher joint friction, and the necessity for higher driving power. In this paper, a technique of reduction of the dynamic torque and joint forces in the slider-crank mechanism using mechanical resonance is described. A comparative result of the conventional system in the process of gas compression, as a practical application example, is presented. The result shows that the utilization of resonance has the advantage of providing lower dynamic torque and rotating joint forces compared to the conventional operation. Since the compression of the air itself takes effect as a spring compression, in the gas compression process, the narrow torque and force region around the resonant frequency can be obtained with or without the use of spring as the element for storing the potential energy.