Dynamics of a four-bar mechanism with clearance and springs - Modeling and experimental analysis

This paper presents a study of the dynamic behavior of a planar four-bar mechanism with clearance. A spring was added to improve the dynamic response of the mechanism with clearance. Simulations and experimental tests were carried out to show the improvement of the dynamic behavior using this simple yet effective solution. The simulation was performed under MATLAB and ADAMS. An experimental set-up was designed and built to achieve the experimental validations. The presented results show that the added spring improved the dynamic behavior of the mechanism by keeping a continuous contact between the journal and the sleeve despite the presence of the clearance. The effect of the spring on the input torque was also investigated. It is shown that the spring increases the maximum value of the torque. Optimization was performed to determine the best parameters of the spring that reduce the effect of the clearance while minimizing the increase of the input torque. The optimized system was tested at different speeds to show the effect of the speed on the dynamic behavior of the optimized system.